Do not speak to me of Dragonfire!
by ElfofMirkwood1379
Summary: The story behind Thranduil's scar. What starts out as a day of celebration in Mirkwood turns into a day of death as Thranduil and Celeberyn find themselves fighting for their kingdom. Admist the darkness and danger is no place for an elfling, so where will Legolas go? And what will happen if a terrible misunderstanding leaves the royal family barely clinging onto the will to live?
1. Dragons!

**Hello my amazing readers!**

**Thank you all again SO much for your support and feedback! I honestly cannot believe you all enjoy my writing so much! Special thanks for eveyone who reviews! I appreciate it so much!**

**Okay, so I've been thinking about this story for a while, especially after recently being hit by major DOS/BOFA feels. **

**I'm also working on my other story "My brother" which is a series of oneshots. **

**Since a new semester is starting at school, I might be kinda busy, but no worries! I will definitely upload new chapters as soon as I can! **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of Tolkien's work **

**This story is more action-y, though the first chapter has lots of fluff, so yeah... :D I hope you enjoy!**

Legolas snuggled deep into his blankets as his older brother Celeberyn blew out the candles in his room. The elfling's sharp elven hearing wandered over to the distance of the kitchen, picking up sounds of clinking plates and muffled voices.

"Cel?" he whispered, tugging on the prince's sleeve.

"What is it, little green leaf?"

"The servants have been really busy today, setting up for something special. I heard them talking about you. What's going to happen tomorrow? Is it a party?"

Celeberyn smiled. "It's a party for your hanar."

The prince immediately regretted telling Legolas when the elfling's eyes grew huge with excitement. _Great. Now he's not going to sleep a wink tonight._ "Really? For you? Why?" he asked, jumping out of bed.

"Well, every hundred years, we have especially big birthday celebrations, which is what they're preparing for tomorrow. Now, hurry and go to sleep, okay? Or no cake for you!" Celeberyn grinned, tapping Legolas on the nose. The elfling immediately jumped back in bed, pulling the blankets up.  
"Okay! See you tomorrow!" He whispered loudly.

"Good night, little leaf."

As soon as Celeberyn shut the door, Legolas ripped the covers aside and crawled out of bed, carefully lighting a few candles. He hurried over to his small desk where he retrieved a few sheets of paper and his box of crayons. Sitting down, he tapped a fat crayon against his chin thoughtfully.

"It's a celebration for Cel," he whispered. "I'm gonna do something really special! Hmm…." The elfling suddenly grinned and started scribbling on the paper. "I'll make a cake! A special cake just for him! I'm gonna make Ada help me!" He chose a few more colors and finished his drawing proudly, holding it up. It was an image of a cake frosted with lots of green leaves and silver trees, decorated with tiny figures of the Mirkwood royal family. Legolas giggled as he added the finishing touches. "Cel is going to be so surprised! It's going to be so fun!"

Taking another sheet of paper, the elfling proceeded to scribble a more detailed image of the figures. "They're going to be made out of sweets and painted with colored frosting! I'm going to eat Ada first," he planned happily. "And then me, and then Cel, because it's his special day!"

Taking his drawings, Legolas tiptoed out of his room and snuck into the empty hallway, heading for his father's room. He pushed open the heavy doors with difficulty, then skipped in, finding the king at his desk filling out paperwork.

Thranduil looked up as Legolas entered, smiling and setting down the document. "Legolas! What is it? Why aren't you in bed?"

Legolas ran up excitedly and hopped onto his father's lap, waving the drawings around in Thranduil's face.

"What's this?" He asked, taking the papers. He eyed the pictures in interest. "Wow, ion nin, it's beautiful!"

"I'm gonna make it for Cel tomorrow! It's his special celebration day!" Legolas beamed.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"You have to help me Ada!"

"Alright, little green leaf. We shall make a cake together for Cel."

"Yeah yeah! We have to get up super early tomorrow so it'll be a surprise!" The elfling was practically bouncing in his father's lap.

Thranduil grinned and sent for Elfaron. "In that case, we must stall Celeberyn in the morning."

"My king?" Elfaron bowed when he appeared in the room, "How may I assist you?"

"Legolas and I are planning to make a cake for Cel tomorrow morning. I ask you to stall him for a few hours tomorrow. Is that doable?"

"As you wish, my lord. It's going to be simple," he smiled. "Prince Celeberyn is easily distracted."

"Fantastic! Hannon le, Elfaron."

"Anything, my lord," he bowed and left the room, while Legolas giggled and clapped his hands in excitement.

"Yay! It's going to be so fun!"

Thranduil smiled. "Since we're going to be getting up so early, you're going to bed early too, little leaf!"

Legolas pouted, "Aww….but….." suddenly, his face lit up. "Can I sleep with you, Ada? Please?" he begged.

"Of course, ion nin. Ada has to finish some more work, though." Thranduil led the elfling over into the side room to his humongous bed and tucked him in. "Sleep tight, little leaf," he murmured, kissing Legolas on the cheek.

"Good night, Ada!" Legolas replied excitedly.

Thranduil looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Make sure you really sleep." He closed the door lightly and returned to his desk. _Great, now I'm so excited that I can't even finish my work. _The king had never felt excitement like this in a long time. He didn't even remember the last time he planned any sort of surprise event for someone. Legolas could really bring out the elfling in him. Thranduil laughed and attempted to make at least a little more progress before going to bed. He really was looking forward to the morning though.

* * *

"Ada! Ada!" Legolas bounced up and down on the bed, shaking his father eagerly. "Wake up! Come on!"

Thranduil groaned. "Alright, alright. I'm coming, ion nin. Just one moment."

"Yay!" The elfling slid off the blankets and hurried into his own room to get dressed.

The king smiled and dragged himself up, Legolas's restlessness starting to spread to him. He dressed quickly and hurried to his son's room, where they both headed for the kitchen quietly.

The royal cook, Nenuial left the directions on a sheet of paper in the kitchen along with the already softened butter, and departed with a smile, glad that the king was able to spend quality time with the little prince. She just hoped that they wouldn't make _too _big of a mess.

"Let's start, Ada!" Legolas jumped onto a stool and placed his drawings on the counter next to the instructions. "What do we do first?"

Thranduil rolled up his sleeves and tied Legolas' long hair back as he read the recipe. "It says that the first thing you do is cream the butter and sugar together. Can you find the mixing bowl and whisk?"

Legolas breathlessly opened all the cupboards and banged around until he finally produced the huge bowl and whisk made of thin branches. He helped his father plop in the soft butter and measure out the sugar. He then attempted to cream the two ingredients together, but got really tired and surrendered the whisk to Thranduil dejectedly.

"It's okay, Legolas. Watch Ada!" Thranduil then proceeded to whip the contents together in huge movements while yelling some sort of battle cry as if defeating a whole army of orcs.

"Yeah! GO ADA!" Legolas cried passionately, clapping his hands.

"YAAAAAHHHH!" The Elvenking felt like a fool, but was having a good time nonetheless. His archery and swordfight training really came into play as he used all his muscle and hard work to cream the butter and sugar together. When he finally finished, he was surprised at the amount of exertion that was required for merely one step. _I really need to appreciate my cooks more! _

Striking a pose, he stuck his whisk in the air triumphantly.

"Ada! You're amazing!" Legolas giggled, wrapping his arms around Thranduil.

"Alright! Now that that's done…..we need to fold in the flour!

"I'll get it!" the elfling ran over to a huge bucket in the corner of the kitchen and scooped up a heaping cup of the white snow-like flour. He stared at it in wonder and smacked one hand in the powder. The tiny bits flew into the air in one big puff and surrounded Legolas, making its way into his eyes and mouth. He dropped the cup and ran to Thranduil, coughing and crying.

"Legolas! Are you okay?" Thranduil knelt down and gently wiped the elfling's eyes and face, who sniffed and wiped his nose on his father's sleeve.

"I don't like flour." He whimpered.

"That's okay, little leaf. Ada will defeat it for you!" Thranduil marched over to the bucket of flour and made a big show of scolding it for flying into Legolas' face. He scooped up a cup of white powder and dumped it into the mixing bowl as the elfling cheered him on.

"Get 'em, Ada! Yeah! Ha! Take that, flour!" Legolas stood on his stool and grinned as Thranduil defeated his enemies for him.

The rest of the cake-making process was just as intense. Thranduil defeated enemy after enemy as Legolas helped and encouraged his father. The end product was a large, beautifully frosted cake with green leaves, silver trees, and three little figures on the top. Legolas had frosting on his nose and all over his hands, while Thranduil was covered in flour, frosting, and sticky jam that they'd spread in the middle of the cake. The two were pretty proud of themselves at their amazing accomplishment. _I guess all those years spent doing art as a hobby really paid off_, Thranduil thought.

"It's perfect!" Legolas giggled. "Good job, Ada! Cel's going to love it!"

"He sure will, little leaf. Let's show him!"

* * *

"Elfaron, why are you acting so….secretive today? And what's this strange trip into the woods all of a sudden?" Celeberyn questioned, as Elfaron led him deeper into the trees.

His friend looked at him, smiling. "No reason, my prince. I just feel….." he racked his brain for anything that could sound casual. "…like today is a beautiful day and I should celebrate your birthday by taking you out for a walk!"

Celeberyn raised an eyebrow. "It's about to rain."

"Er…well…rain is beautiful too!"

"Yes, but you didn't even bring any sort of cover for when it comes pouring down. The clouds are moving pretty fast. Are you sure you want to continue?" The prince eyed the dark sky warily, feeling like something much more then rain was coming.

"If it really does start to rain, I guess we should return." As soon as the words left Elfaron's mouth, large, cold droplets began falling from the sky. "Great. Yeah. Let's go."  
The two elves hurried back towards the palace under the cover of the trees as the rain began dropping harder and faster, soon turning into a full-out downpour. They dashed into the courtyard, where guards immediately ushered them back into the palace and shut the gates firmly.

Elfaron immediately bowed guiltily, feeling like a complete fool. "I'm sorry, my prince. I really didn't think it would rain so soon, I didn't want us to be caught in it – "

"Please, El, stop it. There is absolutely no need for you to apologize. I know you had good intentions, and I really appreciate it." Celeberyn replied, placing his hand on Elfaron's shoulder. "Hannon le," he smiled. "Now, I'm going to head to breakfast. Join me! I'm sure Ada and Legolas won't mind."

Elfaron agreed, if only to stall the crown prince a little more. He didn't know if the cake was ready yet, and didn't want to take any chances. He tried his best to act laid back and casual, and not as if he was keeping a secret from the person he's never supposed to keep secrets from.

When the two elves reached the dining room and was met with emptiness, Celeberyn frowned in confusion. "Ada and Legolas should be here by now…is something going on that I don't know of? El?"

"Of course not, my prince. I believe they may have just slept in."

"My father? No. He never does."

Before Celeberyn could start suspecting anymore, Legolas skipped into the dining room excitedly. "Cel! Cel!"

The crown prince smiled, scooping up his little brother in his arms. "Legolas! Where have you been? You weren't going to leave your hanar to eat all by himself, were you?"

"NO!" The elfling giggled. "Come to the kitchen! Come on!"

"The kitchen?"

"Yes! Hurry!"

"Alright, little leaf." Celeberyn headed in the direction of the kitchen as he wondered what he was missing. Legolas sat in his brother's arms restlessly, grinning and trying not to say anything.

When they reached the kitchen, Legolas jumped down and instructed Celeberyn to close his eyes, guiding him into the room. Celeberyn was really curious now, since he could feel his father's presence too, who never participated in surprises.

"Okay…open!" When Celeberyn looked, he almost walked right back out of the kitchen in shock. Sitting on a big platter was a round cake decorated with leaves, trees, and three little figures – the small royal family. He stared at it for a while, not believing his eyes. _When in Arda did Ada learn to bake? _Thranduil was smiling proudly, while Legolas jumped up and down, squealing.

"Isn't it pretty? Isn't it pretty?"

Finally finding his voice, Celeberyn replied, "Yes, Legolas. It's amazing! How…" he looked up at his father in confusion. "I never knew you could bake, Ada."

"I didn't either, actually. I had no idea what I was getting myself into…but Legolas insisted, and I think we did a pretty good job! Didn't we, little leaf?" Thranduil smiled.

"Yes, Ada! You did good! It's just like my plan!" Legolas turned to his brother, grinning. "Since you said today is your special celebration day, we made you a cake!" he took the heavy plate, nearly dropping it, and held it up. "Happy birthday, Crown Prince Cel'beryn. You have grown so much and will make a great king one day! I hope this cake makes you happy, and I hope that the celebration today will be worthy enough for you!"

The elfling said it with such sincerity and confidence that Celeberyn burst out laughing, taking the cake from his brother's hands. "Oh, Legolas! Hannon le, honeg. This is absolutely beautiful! You're such a thoughtful little elfling." He eyed the cake hungrily. "Now…can we eat it?"

"Yes!" Legolas cried eagerly.

Celeberyn set the platter down on the table as his brother ran to get small plates and forks. He turned to his father and grinned. "Maybe you _are_ full of surprises, Ada. Hannon le. This is amazing."

Thranduil gently placed a hand on his son's cheek. "Don't thank me, Cel. You deserve this, and so much more. You really have grown. I am so blessed to have you as a son."

Celeberyn smiled. "You make me sound way too good, Ada." His smile slowly disappeared as he remembered the strange feeling he had in the morning. "Ada….I can't help but feel a darkness growing. The light fades from the sky."

At that moment, Thoronbel burst into the kitchen, out of breath and dripping with rainwater. "My king!" He expression is one of pure horror, which seized Thranduil's heart. "An army of 50,000 orcs is headed towards the palace at a rapid pace. They'll be on us in less than an hour."

"What?" The king's eyes flashed. "Prepare to attack. Divide our forces among attacking and defending. I want the palace heavily guarded, inside and out. No orc will dare penetrate our walls."

"Yes, My lord." Thoronbel left swiftly to carry out his orders, while Legolas tugged on Thranduil's sleeve worriedly.

"Ada? What's going on?"

The king knelt down in front of his son, looking him in the eye. "Listen to me, Legolas. You are going to stay in your room and I will send for Handir to be with you. No matter what, do not leave. Do you understand?"

The elfling's lower lip quivered as he heard the fear in his father's voice, the small plates in his hand and beautiful cake forgotten. "Ada, where are you and Cel going?"

"We're going to leave for a little while, but we'll be back before you know it, honeg," Celeberyn replied, brushing the elfling's cheek. "Now listen to Ada, okay?"

Thranduil carried Legolas to his room, where he sent for Handir and tried to comfort his son the best he could. How can he explain war to such an innocent child? Legolas should not have to see death at this age. His heart broke for the elfling, whom he wished he could raise in a time of music and light.

"No matter what happens, you have to be brave, little leaf," Celeberyn whispered, touching foreheads with his brother. "Promise?"

"I promise," Legolas whimpered.

The king and prince pulled themselves away and hurried to the armory, fear filling the air so it was almost tangible. Thranduil's eyes reflected all the horror he felt. A huge army of orcs, now? What is going on? Those cowardly spawns of Mordor have always been too afraid to attack the palace directly.

There was only one explanation – there must be some other power coming, so strong that the orcs believed they could take down Mirkwood. The thought filled Thranduil with fear, but he stubbornly shoved it out of the way. He must protect the kingdom. He had faith in his warriors. They will not fall.

Thranduil suddenly had a horrible flashback to the Last Alliance. He remembered the terrible darkness that seemed to envelope and choke him, and the scream of the orcs as they closed in. He remembered his Ada dying in his arms, and returning home with barely a third of his army, all stumbling blindly through the forest. He remembered the horror, pain, and grief that left him numb, the only thing keeping him anchored to the world was his wife and son. _Gladhwen may have already passed, but I still have Cel next to me. And Legolas too. As a father, I must protect them and give them a life full of light._

Thranduil and Celeberyn armed themselves with bows, swords, and knives. There was no time for armor. Then they ran out into the courtyard, where they realized that the sky had grown almost completely dark and rain was pouring down relentlessly, as if the heavens were crying in despair.

"My lord," Thoronbel bowed to the king and prince. "The forces are stationed as you ordered. We are ready."

"Good." Thranduil, Celeberyn and Thoronbel hurried into the forest where the frontlines were stationed. The perfect rows of elven warriors dressed in gold armor smiled proudly as their king and prince arrived to join them. Even the dark rain couldn't dampen their spirits.

The first thing Celebeyrn heard was stomping and laughing of thousands of orcs, then strained to see through the thick sheets of rain, eyes widening as the army came into view. He had never seen so many orcs in one place before. His blood froze and he couldn't help but fear that they might not be able to hold the palace.

Thranduil yelled the command and thousands of elves nocked an arrow, releasing as one. They shot in rapid succession, able to accurately shoot six arrows in a single second. Still, the orcs surged on, undaunted by the fact that their fellow warriors were falling left and right.

When the creatures were too close for shooting range, the elven army drew their swords and engaged the enemy, while archers stationed in the trees continued to use their bows. It was an amazing sight, as gold clashed with black and weapons flashed in the elven warriors' graceful yet deadly dance.

"Whatever you do, stay next to me," Thranduil instructed his son, as he sliced the head clean off an orc. Celeberyn grinned and ducked, plunging his sword into another one's stomach. He spun and blocked a blow towards his head, in turn slicing the creature's throat. But before he could respond to his father, a terrible roar sounded overhead.

Thranduil's heart froze in fear. _No. No way._

Celeberyn glanced over in terror at his father. "Ada?"

_It can't be_._ Please. Not on my kingdom._ The king slowly raised his head up towards the rain, and saw a sight he wished he could forget. "Dragons."

**TBC**

**Oh no...what's gonna happen next? I hope you'll stick around to find out!**

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**I promise the action will come in the next chapter! **

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	2. Consumed by fire

**Hi everyone! **

**Thanks to everyone who read my stuff and reviewed. It means soo much to me! You are all awesome!**

**New semester started at school, so I've been kinda busy...but not to worry, for I've got the next chapter!**

**I'm sorry this chapter is so long...but I couldn't really split it.**

**As I promised, here's all the action! **

**Enjoy!**

Thranduil's eyes widened as he saw five massive dragons descending from the dark sky. They resembled long serpents, with wide sail-like wings, and tiny feet extended with razor sharp claws. One of the dragons opened its enormous jaws, and blew out a stream of white hot flames, spraying it over the trees.

The elves dove out of the way as fire erupted in the night, so much that even the freezing, pelting raindrops could not extinguish the hot energy.

"Shoot at their underside!" Thranduil ordered. "The scales are weak there."

One of the serpents crashed onto the earth, eyeing the elves cruelly, pulling back it's slimy lips to reveal dagger like teeth. Long horns extended form its head, and each scale was shaped into a point, flashing in the rain.

Celeberyn was frozen in fear. _Such creatures exist in Arda? We can't hold Mirkwood for long! Oh, Iluvatar, help us. _

The prince was so horrified that he didn't notice an orc swinging at his head, until his father reached around him and killed the creature with a swift blow. "Celeberyn!" Thranduil exclaimed, grabbing his son by the shoulders. "Celeberyn, look at me."

The prince tore his attention away from the serpents and focused on his father with difficulty. "Ada…." The despair was so deep in his eyes that Thranduil wanted to break down and cry from the breaking of his heart.

"Cel, you can not panic, no matter what. We must hold the palace. Stay near me, ion nin. I will not let anything happen to you, nor will I let Mirkwood fall." Thranduil kissed his son on the forehead. "Don't be afraid."

Celeberyn took a shaky breath and nodded, the two elves turning back to the battle. Icy rain ran down the prince's face like tears as he fought alongside his father, slaying orc after orc.

Another serpent dropped to the ground, crushing warriors under its weight and slithering quickly between the trees. It opened its mouth and let out a spray of fire, lighting the trees and sending thick smoke into the cold air. With its belly directly contacting the earth, there was no way to reach the dragons' weak spots.

The orcs cackled and surged forward with renewed vigor upon seeing the arrival of their allies.

It was absolute chaos.

Warriors clashed with orcs, desperately trying not to retreat closer to the palace, as more elves hopelessly tried to injure the massive serpents. Flames erupted all over the forest, as the rain kept pouring down mercilessly, turning the battlefield into mud.

Thranduil looked up and saw the other three dragons flying over…towards the palace. "Shoot the serpents in the air!" he yelled, and the archers immediately sent arrow after arrow towards the underside of the creatures.

Studded with dozens and dozens of the weapons, one of the three serpents slowed in flight and slowly started tumbling down, trying desperately to extend its wings. The warriors rolled out of the way as it crashed onto the ground, roaring and breaking trees under it's weight.

Thranduil watched as the monster struggled for a moment before lying still, finally succumbing to its injuries. It was the most beautiful thing the king had seen in a long time. The itty bitty legs stood straight up in the air like sausages, and the king would've laughed if the situation weren't so dire. _One down. _

Thranduil immediately engaged an orc, which he killed easily while keeping an eye on Celeberyn. He avoided a swing at his neck and skewered two creatures through the stomach while kicking another one so hard that it flew back onto the sword of a fellow orc. He chopped the heads off of three more, which were conveniently lined up in a row. Seriously. The orcs were just begging for death. _That's fine with me_.

The king knew the archers were desperately shooting at the serpents in the sky, but the monsters weren't dumb, and flew higher out of range, closer and closer to the palace. The Mirkwood army was powerless against the dragons, while the orcs pushed the elves harder and harder. Each warrior was doing their absolute best, but it wasn't enough. Thranduil watched, numb with horror, as one of the serpents opened its mouth and let loose a gush of blazing fire.

Immediately a section of the palace lit up with flames, the warriors stationed inside crying in alarm, trying to shoot at the monsters and instantly working to extinguish the element. What was once something of light and joy turned into a weapon of destruction and death.

Thranduil's heart shattered in his chest as he realized the position of the fire. It was right where Legolas' room was. Celeberyn looked over and immediately realized what his father was thinking.

"Legolas!" The crown prince stabbed a nearby orc and immediately started a mad dash towards the burning palace.

"Celeberyn!" The king wanted to chase after him and rescue both of his sons, but he knew he had to stay with the army. They absolutely could not let the orcs pass. The pain tore his heart into pieces, but Thranduil gripped his sword tighter as cold rainwater ran down his face. _I must have faith in Celeberyn. He and Legolas will be fine._ Thranduil instead turned his attention to the serpents. They were the main problem.

He approached a dragon slowly as it eyed him and grinned, relishing the idea of destroying the elvenking. "Little elf, your time has long since ended," it hissed, a sound similar to metal screeching on metal.

Thranduil picked up the sword of a fallen warrior, heart constricting in pain and rage. They will pay for this. His eyes flitted towards the trees, and gave the slightest nod to his archers. The serpent widened its jaws as dark flames built up at the base of its throat. But before the monster could let it out, a hail of arrows flew into its mouth, which snapped closed as it let out a roar of pain, arching its neck back.

That split second was all Thranduil needed.

The king ran straight towards the monster and slid under its body, which was slightly off the ground due to its discomfort. He was met with dark scales several inches above his face, and a terrible smell. _I never knew dragons had such strong body odor._ He brought both swords up and plunged them deep into the dragons' underside with all the strength he could muster. Yanking the weapons back out, Thranduil rolled quickly out of the way as the serpent screeched and flopped back onto the ground. He knelt a few feet away, panting and trying to clear the smell from his nose, which was like wet towels left in the mud and stomped on by a thousand orcs.

Yet the king knew he had merely injured and angered the dragon. _Bring it on, serpent of the North. I'll show you what Mirkwood elves are made of_.

* * *

Celeberyn had always been a fast runner, but never had he felt the need to dash at such a rapid pace. Until now. The prince's feet flew over the ground nimbly despite the rain which had turned everything into a cold mud puddle. The dark in the sky was nothing compared to the blackness in his heart, though. He was absolutely consumed with fear, especially now that his father was out of sight and his brother was in danger.

The pounding rain could not hinder Celeberyn's flight, driven on with determination. He had to rescue Legolas. The elfling was too young to defend himself. _Oh, Iluvatar, please, protect my brother, and protect Mirkwood! _ Legolas was Celeberyn's life. There was no hope, no light without his little leaf.

Approaching the palace gates, he spoke the commanding word and the doors immediately opened for the prince. He forced himself to look away from the serpents soaring around in the sky, spewing flames on the palace. The sky had grown so dark that Celeberyn could barely see through the relentless sheets of rain, whose sound, combined with the serpents roaring, orcs laughing, and weapons clashing, was deafening to the prince's ears. He wanted to curl up in a corner and block out the world. Maybe this was all just a terrible nightmare.

The warriors stationed in the courtyard worked desperately to smother the flames and bring down the enormous dragons. Celeberyn ran past and streaked into the burning palace, much to the elves' horror.

He dashed down his father's halls, desperately searching for Legolas' room. Where was it? It should be close…the heat burned his face as flames licked all around, thick smoke filling his nose and mouth. His clothes immediately started to dry as he tore through the palace.

Finally, he saw figures stumbling in his direction. It was Nenuial, the royal cook, and some of her assistants.

Celeberyn grabbed her by the shoulders. "Is everyone out? Where is the prince?" He broke off coughing, the smoke burning his throat like daggers.

Nenuial grasped his arm tightly in horror. "My lord! Yes, I believe all the elves are out of the palace. I – I thought the prince had already left. Handir …"

"What about Handir?" Celeberyn demanded hoarsely.

"He told us Prince Legolas had ran away from him in fear, and he didn't know where the prince went. I don't know where Handir is now, but…"

Cold numbness started in Celeberyn's heart and slowly spread throughout his body until he felt like an empty shell. He thanked Nenuial absently and shoved them past him, ordering them to leave despite their cries of horror at the thoughts of their beloved prince staying in the burning palace.

No. The prince's world suddenly came crashing down. No. Legolas must still be alive. There's no way any son of Thranduil will give in easily. Celeberyn stumbled down the halls, straining his ears past the roaring of the fires to try and locate his brother. The smoke stung his eyes, making them water, as ash rained down on him like rain.

He suddenly picked up faint sounds of crying coming from the library. Celeberyn took off at top speed, despite his condition. He burst through the burning door, kicking aside books that had fallen from a flaming bookshelf. The crying grew louder, and the prince staggered over to the back corner, where he saw an elfling cowering under the desk. He almost broke down in relief, feeling the need to sit down and fall to sleep for a while. "Legolas!" He whispered.

The elfling looked up with tears in his eyes, and flew into his brother's arms, wailing. "Cel! Cel!" Celeberyn held onto him as if he were life itself, tears streaming down his face not just from the smoke.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here, alright?"

Legolas nodded slightly, burying his face in his brother's chest. Celeberyn stood up, gasping from the fumes of the fire. The heat was incredibly intense, and he had to get out of here as soon as possible.

Just as the prince was running towards the library entrance, the doorframe, weakened by the flames, buckled and crashed down, barring Celeberyn's only exit. The heat singed off the hairs of his arms and he backed up, blue-green eyes widening in terror. He whipped around and was met with the beautiful sight of a floor-to-ceiling window on the other side of the room.

He ran over clutching Legolas tightly, and ripped off a section of the thick green curtains. Celeberyn murmured softly to his brother, calming him enough that he was able to unwind Legolas' arms around his chest and instead place the elfling on his back, tying the two of them together securely with the curtain cloth. Legolas hid his face in Celeberyn's wet hair and wrapped his arms around his neck, crying in fear.

Celeberyn took his sword and using the broad side, smashed it into the window as hard as he can. The glass shattered, sending shards everywhere, cutting the prince's hands and face, and opening a huge gap to outside of the palace. Celeberyn's heart sank when he realized that the trees closest to the window had been trampled by the cursed serpents, and the only ones left was almost too far to jump. If he made it, it would be a miracle.

There was no choice.

Celeberyn backed up, breathing hard. The flames were searing into his skin and the smoke choking him. Legolas was whimpering and crying on his back, which broke the prince's heart.

"Legolas," he whispered. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," he sobbed. "I trust you, Cel. I'll always trust you."

Celeberyn took a deep breath. A panel of the ceiling dropped down, burning, just as the prince started to run, crashing into the ground where he had stood a split second earlier. His eyes were fixed on the single branch he knew his hands had to grab onto, as his feet reached the end of the windowsill and he jumped.

* * *

Thranduil knelt on the ground, panting, sword dripping with black blood. The serpent had finally been defeated, its underside sliced into pieces. However, there was still one left, slithering and constantly shooting fire as if showing off.

The king's heart broke for the trees, which were burning all around the elves. The warriors couldn't afford to take time and extinguish the flames, or Mirkwood could fall. As a wood elf, there was nothing he loved more then the stars and the trees. _You will pay, Mordor scum. I swear it._

Thranduil knew that as soon as serpents were destroyed, they had hope of survival. But that was the difficult part. He sliced the head off another orc, not even having to look, instead focusing his attention to the black skies, where he noticed that one of the serpents was returning from the palace to help the dragon over here to defeat the Mirkwood army.

The king wanted to laugh in relief. _Yes. Please come, you worm. _Now there was only one attacking the palace. Thranduil hoped that all the elves inside were safe. _Legolas! Celeberyn! Oh Iluvatar, please, spare my sons, I beg you. Take my life if you want. Just protect them._

"My lord," Galion materialized next to the king, face smeared with mud and blood, but eyes shining in pride upon seeing Thranduil, who was dirty from head to toe. But the elf had never seen anything more amazing. He had grown up with Thranduil, and knew him as his brother, his friend, and his king. "I'm honored to have been by your side all this time, my lord."

"The honor's mine, Galion. You have stuck by me all these centuries…are you sure you still want to follow me?" Thranduil grinned, looking his friend in the eye.

"To my dying day."

The elves both knew that if they charged the monsters again, it would be their death.

_At least we can take them with us_, the king thought.

"Galion," Thranduil noted. "Do you think the serpents have learnt their lesson yet?"

"No my lord," Galion smiled. "I believe we need to continue teaching. I was always the better teacher, Thranduil. We both know that."

Thranduil smirked at his friend as the two turned and ran towards the dragons.

* * *

Celeberyn had always wanted to fly.

But not like this.

Not with the palace burning behind him and the kingdom falling as dragons blew fire and orcs marched their filthy feet through the forest. _What a wonderful story. No one will believe this in the future! _Not with his little brother on his back crying from the heat and smoke. Not feeling like he was peeling apart like a banana due to the pain in his throat, eyes, and head. Not worrying that his jump was too short and he and his brother would go crashing to the ground. It wouldn't matter if he died. It was Legolas. There was _no _way Celeberyn was letting anything happen to Legolas.

The prince's heart was in his throat as he sailed towards the tree, terrified that his jump was too short. The rain pelted harder then ever, and he forced his eyes to find a landing point. The wind screamed past his ears as the ground rushed closer and closer. He was suddenly chilled to the bone from his soaking clothes, and feared for his little brother who was severely weakened from the fire.

His eyes were fixed on the branch as he reached out to grab it. For one horrifying second, his hands met empty air, and he almost had a heart attack. But his nimble fingers found the thin branch at the top of the tree and their fall lurched to a stop as he swung forward, slamming his feet in front so his momentum wouldn't throw them back off the branch.

That would be a disaster.

Celeberyn just hung there for a while, panting, as the thin branch shook, threatening to snap. "Legolas?" he whispered. For a moment he received no response, and the crown prince's heart seized in fear that something was terribly wrong. "Legolas?"

The elfling sniffled and whimpered, "Don't ever do that again, Cel."

Celeberyn smiled slightly as he started slowly jumping down the tree. "Oh I won't, Legolas. I'm never ever doing that again. I'm sorry, little leaf. But don't be scared. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I'm not scared for me," Legolas whispered. "I'm scared for you."

The prince's heart melted. "Honeg, don't worry for me." Celeberyn murmured, as his feet found solid ground again. He had never felt anything more beautiful then hard dirt. His knees almost buckled, but he forced them to stand and started running. "I'll be perfectly fine, and so will you."

Celeberyn's feet were sprinting back towards the battlefield, while half of his mind screamed at him. _What are you doing?! You are NOT bringing Legolas anywhere near the orcs!_ The other half screamed back, _Well what else am I supposed to do? I can't leave him alone!_

The crown prince drew his sword as he vaguely saw the shapes of orcs and elves up ahead. "Legolas," he commanded. "When your hanar says so, do not look, no matter what, alright? Promise me."

Legolas tightened his arms around Celebeyrn's neck, shivering in the rain. "I promise."

"Don't look!" Celeberyn plunged his sword into an orc's stomach and sliced another's throat as he ducked, avoiding a blow to his head.

Legolas whimpered and sobbed from the terrible sounds he heard, but his eyes remained shut as his brother had said. His little ears suddenly picked up the sound of singing, and he realized that Celeberyn was whispering a lullaby he had always sung to Legolas at bedtime. The elfling immediately felt calm as a warm feeling spread throughout his body, imagining the sun and sweet dreams he had.

Celeberyn slashed through a few more orcs and continued running to where his father would be, as warriors helped clear a path for him. A few broke off and flanked him to protect the two princes. Celeberyn squinted against the rain as his feet flew faster and faster. He immediately located two serpents on the ground ahead, and masses of elven warriors mixed with the foul orcs.

The crown prince sliced the head off a creature as his eyes searched desperately for Thranduil. He asked all the nearby warriors, who all claimed they hadn't seen the king. With fear growing in his stomach, Celeberyn didn't notice the orc advancing behind him, flashing his sword to plunge into the sleeping elfling on the prince's back.

Celeberyn suddenly felt a strange chill down his spine, and whipped around just as the weapon plunged into his abdomen. His eyes widened and met the orc's in shock. Blood dribbled from his mouth as agony lanced through his body. The orc growled in disappointment and yanked the sword back out, but before it could deliver the deathblow, its head rolled clean off its shoulders. Celeberyn gasped his thanks to the warrior as he clutched his middle, refusing for his legs to buckle.

Gritting his teeth, the crown prince broke off running again, killing any orc in his path. He realized he was heading straight in the direction of the giant serpents, but he pushed all his terrifying thoughts away.

Celeberyn suddenly dove out of the way as one of the dragons let loose a stream of blazing flames, burning trees and warriors. The heat seared his skin, suffocated him, and he suddenly froze as he realized his father was probably fighting these monsters. _Oh, please, Iluvatar let Ada be okay. _

* * *

Thranduil grinned as he rolled and plunged his sword into the serpent's underside. His face felt like it was peeling off and smoke filled his mouth, but he shoved those all into the background. He and Galion stabbed the dragons repeatedly, darting back and forth quicker then any eye could see.

But it wasn't quick enough.

For the king had sustained many stab wounds, and his strong elven body was tiring. How long he could keep this up, he didn't know. He just knew that for long as he had breath, he would continue fighting.

Thranduil knelt, trying to catch his breath, while the serpent roared and twisted around, eyeing him cruelly. It opened its mouth and blew out another column of fire as the king lunged out of the way.

Those were getting pretty annoying.

Thranduil suddenly grabbed his sword and jumped up into the air, grabbing onto the serpent's horn. The dragon bellowed and swung its head back and forth, trying to throw off the elf. Thranduil hung on for dear life as he pulled himself up and ran across its hard scales until he stood right above the serpent's eye. He raised his sword and plunged it deep into the yellow orb, slimy substance flinging into the air as his weapon met resistance.

The serpent screamed and bucked, flinging the king off as it thrashed in pain. Thranduil dropped to the muddy ground in satisfaction, knowing that he'd blinded one eye. As he stood up painfully, his pale blue eyes located a figure running towards him, and his smile disappeared.

What in Arda was Cel doing here? And what about Legolas?

The king ran towards him slowly and grasped Celeberyn's shoulders. He then realized that tied on the crown prince's back was a sleeping elfling with golden hair. Thranduil's heart clenched and he shakily reached out a bloodied hand to touch Legolas' cheek.

"Ada…" Celeberyn was horrified upon seeing his father's condition – exhausted, injured, and muddied beyond compare. His clothes were stained with dark red, as was his cheeks and hands

"Cel. You're both safe. That's all that matters." Thranduil whispered, brushing the prince's face, which was streaked with blood and dirt.

"Ada, we have to get Legolas out of here."

The king looked lovingly at the elfling on the prince's back. "I know." He whispered, calling over a nearby warrior. "What's your name?"

"Aredhel," The warrior replied, bowing. "How may I assist you, my lord?"

Thranduil gently untied Legolas from Celeberyn's back and cradled him gently. "You must take the prince and run. Run as far as you possibly can, and do not look back, no matter what. This is my command. Make sure Legolas is safe, do you hear me?"

Aredhel nodded, eyes widening in shock. His king was trusting _him_ with such an important mission? "I will not fail, my lord. I swear on my life."

Thranduil started ranting desperately, words spilling from his lips. "He's really energetic, make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. At night, he likes stories about Mirkwood warriors and Greenwood the Great. Make sure you sing a lullaby for him. He's not a picky eater, but really likes sweets, which you can give him occasionally. He's also quite an artist, and loves to draw. He'll show you all of his drawings, and try to encourage him no matter how strange they might look. Let him run around, but don't let him exhaust himself. Comb his hair in the morning and bath him every other day."

"My-my lord," Aredhel looked at his king in shock.

"Ada, he's not going to be away for long, right?" Celeberyn whispered as horror filled his heart. "Right?"

Thranduil looked down on Legolas' sleeping face, his chubby cheeks and golden hair. He smiled faintly as tears streamed down his face, falling onto the elfling. "I will see you soon, Legolas, do you hear me? We'll be together again, I promise. And Ada never breaks his promises." Thranduil hugged him tightly and kissed his son on the cheek. "I love you, my little leaf."

The king took a deep breath and placed the elfling in Aredhel's arms. "Go now!" He called six other warriors to ensure Legolas' safety, and shoved them away. "Go! As far as you can. Don't come back until you know for sure it's safe! Run!"

Aredhel cast one last look at Thranduil, then glanced lovingly at the little prince in his arms, resolve in his heart. He turned and dashed off with the warriors following closely.

Celeberyn stared after Aredhel, tears cascading down his face, wanting to scream and curse at the sky. _Please, protect Legolas, I'm begging you_.

Thranduil tore his eyes away and focused back on the serpent, who had recovered and snarled at the king.

"You filthy elf! I will destroy every one of your people! Since you have given me one blind eye, I shall give you two!" It unhinged its massive jaws as hot fire built up in the back of its throat.

Thranduil's heart was filled with dread and he ran to the side so the fire wouldn't reach the retreating Aredhel. To his horror, he discovered that Celeberyn was sticking right next to him, refusing for his father to be alone. Thranduil stopped and shoved Celeberyn away just as the fire burst from the serpent's mouth, engulfing the king in flames.

The crown prince stumbled in the mud and watched in pure shock as his father was consumed by blazing white fire.

* * *

Legolas blinked drowsily, and suddenly wondered why he was moving backwards at a rapid pace. His nose was met with a smell not belonging to his father or his brother. What was going on? The elfling's heart immediately seized in fear. He felt cold armor under him and silky hair in his fingers. Cold wind and rain assaulted him, making him shiver.

"My lord?" Aredhel sensed the little prince awakening, and ran faster, trying to get him away from the horrors of battle.

Legolas froze at the sound of a strange elf's voice who was carrying him. His blue eyes blinked as he saw a huge, long monster and masses of elves doing something he'd never seen before in the opposite direction where Aredhel was running.

"My prince, please avert your eyes," Aredhel begged.

But Legolas could not tear his sight away, which was his terrible mistake. For he suddenly saw the silhouette of his father, who was immediately enveloped by orange fire. He remembered Thranduil telling him how dangerous fire was and to never go near it.

And now the terrible flames had completely consumed his father. Legolas' mouth dropped open and he let out a horrible scream.

"ADA!"

**TBC**

**Oh no...this looks bad, guys. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write :) **

**I'll try to update as soon as I can...**

**Review please? :D**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	3. Broken

**Hi everyone! **

**I'm sorry this chapter is so late, thank you all so much for sticking with me! **

**This story was originally supposed to be a oneshot... but my plot bunny went a little crazy and started dragging me all over the place...I honestly don't really know where I'm going with this...LOL. Hope it's not too bad ^_^ **

**I gotta give credit to my amazing friend Mirkwoodawesomeness, who helped me sort out things in this chapter...we make the best team, man!**

**Disclaimer: Thranduil has very generously given me the rights to his son Celeberyn, but he refuses to cough up anything else...**

**Note: the first part in italics is a flashback ^U^**

* * *

_"Ada! Ada!" Oropher looked up from his desk as his son crashed into his room, holding a blanket low over his head._

"_Thranduil, you're supposed to be asleep! What's wrong?" The king asked, as Thranduil leapt into his father's lap, cowering under his blanket. _

_The elfling looked up with shining blue eyes, whispering, "There's a creature under my bed and it wants to eat me!" _

_Oropher frowned. "Has Bruinen been telling you too many stories again?" he asked, tapping Thranduil on the nose. _

_The little prince shook his head vigorously. "No, but there's definitely something in my room!" he buried his face in his father's chest. "I'm scared! Make it go away." _

_Oropher stood up, scooping Thranduil up with one arm and retrieving his sword with the other. "Alright!" He declared. "Don't worry, ion nin. Ada will drive away those monsters!" _

_Thranduil giggled and clutched onto the king's neck as they headed back to the elfling's room. _

_They entered the large chamber and stopped in front of Thranduil's bed. "Who dares to threaten my son?" Oropher boomed. "Show yourself!" _

_When nothing happened (as Oropher expected), Thranduil smiled. "Ada, they're too scared to come out! You're the best! Now you just have to defeat it!" _

_Oropher set Thranduil down and drew his sword. "No one gets away with scaring Thran!" He knelt down, and feeling like a complete fool, the king jabbed his sword into the space underneath the elfling's bed, yelling and pretending to fight the imaginary monster. _

_The servants who passed by the prince's room glanced in and immediately retreated, smiling upon seeing their dignified king on his hands and knees, fighting his son's imagination. _

"_Take that!" Oropher growled. "And that! You're never coming back again!" with one last stab, the king smiled and stood up, dusting off his clothes. "Alright, Thran! The monster's gone now and will never ever return!" _

_Thranduil, who'd been hiding behind a chair, leapt out and into Oropher's arms. "Yayyy! Hannon le, Ada! You're the mightiest warrior ever!"_

_The king smiled, touching foreheads with the elfling. "You're gonna be even mightier then me when you grow up! Now, back to sleep, right? With Ada around, no one will dare approach you!" _

_Thranduil shifted, looking up with a shred of doubt. "But it's really dark. Can you sleep with me?" _

_Oropher carried the elfling over to the fireplace at the side of the chamber, and set him down in the big fluffy chair. "I'm going to do something better! I'll make the darkness go away." He crouched down and gathered a few pieces of wood, swiftly lighting them and creating large orange flames._

_Thranduil leaned forward in the chair with huge eyes. "Ada! What is that?" he inched forward. "It feels warm!" _

_Oropher smiled and sat down, pulling his son into his lap. "It's called fire."_

"_Fire…." The elfling's eyes shone with curiosity. "Can I touch it?" _

"_No!" the king immediately replied. "Fire is really really hot. It's an amazing thing that Iluvatar created. It gives off light and keeps us warm when it's cold."_

_Thranduil stared into the bright flames, mesmerized, but slowly sinking into sleep from the warmth and sense of security. "It's beautiful." _

"_Yes," Oropher kissed the top of his son's head and managed to get in a few more words before the elfling soared off to the paths of elven dreams. "Just remember, Thran. You have to be really careful with fire. But don't be afraid of it." _

* * *

Celeberyn crouched in the mud, a cold numbness beginning to spread over his body. His blue green eyes were huge as the fire burst died, and he watched in what seemed like slow motion as Thranduil stumbled and collapsed to his knees.

The crown prince's mouth dropped open and released a blood curdling scream. The elven warriors paused and turned, horror washing over the battlefield in a tidal wave as they realized what had happened to their beloved king. Elves ran towards Thranduil, yelling for anyone who knew healing. All around Celeberyn, sound and light seemed to dim. He scrambled over to his father and gripped his unscathed shoulder.

The entire left side of Thranduil's body was burned and charred beyond recognition, including the left side of his face. Upon seeing this, Celeberyn's vision was suddenly filled with red. His spirit seemed to detach from his body until he felt like he was watching himself. His heart lay shattered to pieces in the mud, while his mind sprouted wings and flew away, taking his sanity with it.

"Ada! Ada!" Celeberyn cried desperately.

Thranduil reeled in shock as he instinctively covered the left side of his face with his hand. _What just happened? _His body was burned so badly that he felt no pain. The king couldn't decide if that was good or bad. He felt a strange numbness as his remaining right eye slowly lifted and looked past Celeberyn, at the battlefield. He dimly heard the sounds of battle, and saw elves running towards him in slow motion, horror etched in their faces. _These elves shouldn't know pain. They should be at home, laughing and singing. Not…fighting? _Thranduil suddenly felt confused. Why were they even fighting?

The expression in his father's eye chilled Celeberyn to the bone. It was as if he recognized nothing. "Ada?" He tried again.

Thranduil's spirit was a small leaf that was gradually floating away from the tree. He had no idea what was going on around him, no matter how hard he tried to focus. And what was wrong with the left side of his body? The flesh was burned and blackened, forcing Thranduil to look away.

He suddenly felt a gentle breeze blowing his spirit back to the tree. It gradually grew into a wind, and Thranduil heard a single word.

"Ada!"

Thranduil suddenly slammed back into reality. He glanced up and met his son's terrified eyes. Eyes that should never have to know such pain and darkness. Eyes that should be full of innocence, like… "Legolas…" The king whispered. "Legolas!"

"Don't worry about Legolas, Ada," Celeberyn whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Aredhel will take good care of him. We need to focus on defending Mirkwood."

Thranduil paused, his mind not fully processing his son's words. "I feel really tired, Cel," he replied.

"I know, Ada," Celeberyn kissed his father's cheek, touching their foreheads together. "I know. Just sit back, and the healers will tend to you. They will take good care of you, and you will not give in, okay? I forbid it. Don't worry about our kingdom, for I shall not let it fall."

Thranduil nodded absently as he was suddenly surrounded by healers hovering over him in horror. He let them fuss over him as he sat in the mud numbly, still trying to completely process his situation.

"Protect the king!" Thoronbel yelled, slicing the head off a nearby orc.

Celeberyn smiled at his father, then turned back to the battlefield and did something he had never done before in his life. The crown prince of Mirkwood went mad.

He cursed at the sky and the dragon, glaring at it with such hatred that the serpent itself backed up slightly in fear. He could hear nothing, see nothing, but darkness. The warriors had never seen their prince like this.

Celeberyn picked up his father's sword, ignoring the pain in his hands. He tried to push himself up, but his body refused and he dropped to his knees, agony hitting every nerve from the injury on his abdomen. His body convulsed and blood streamed from his mouth, soaking into the mud.

"My lord!" Galion was suddenly beside Celeberyn, silver tears streaming down his face. "Don't be rash."

Celeberyn staggered up and advanced towards the dragon, his entire body an empty shell of shock and cold. "I'm not rash, Galion," he replied hollowly. "I'm just doing what I must."

The elf was shocked by the sound of the prince's voice, which had descended several octaves lower then usual and laced with hatred.

Thranduil's eye wandered over to Celeberyn, and part of him watched in confusion as the other part of him screamed at him to do something. _That is your son, injured, bleeding, and forced to take charge of the battle! Get up and help! If anything happens to him, it's all your fault! _The confused part of Thranduil replied, _I can't even move, and half of my body's charred…I think I've just been burned by dragonfire, which is most unfortunate. Wait, what is Cel doing? And why are we even fighting? I really need to get up…_

Thranduil's body refused to move and he was forced to watch in half-consciousness as the battle raged around him.

Celeberyn ran towards the serpent at a dead sprint, leaping up to grab its horn, just like Thranduil had done earlier. The dragon roared and blew fire, shaking its giant head vigorously, trying to fling off the prince.

But nothing could stop Celeberyn.

He pulled himself up easily as the monster bucked, running across its hard scales until he stood above the other yellow eye. The dragon paused and looked up at the elf, curling its lip in a sardonic grin. "Your people will never survive. You will burn, elfling. Just like I burned your pathetic little king."

Wrong thing to say.

Celeberyn raised Thranduil's sword and drove it down into the yellow eye, cleaving through like butter, causing disgusting eyeball liquid to fling into the air. The dragon immediately screamed in pain and trashed around in agony. The prince yanked the weapon out, the blade stained with blood and slimy goo. He then carefully treaded over the scales until he stood right above the serpent's brain. He easily kept his balance even with the creature moving around violently, blindly spewing fire.

"You disgusting creature of Mordor! Curse you! I will kill every one of you with my bare hands!" The crown prince shouted, clenching the sword. He brought the weapon down and threw his entire weight into the stab.

The seemingly impenetrable scales of the serpent were punctured, as Celeberyn drove the sword straight through the tough hide and into the dragon's brain. Already weakened by previous injuries, the serpent shrieked and collapsed to the ground, unmoving, as the prince fixed his eyes on the other dragon.

Celeberyn slid off the dragon's head absently and stumbled to the ground, throwing up a mouthful of metallic blood. The pounding rain had finally eased, and slowly the prince's mind flew back to him in pieces.

Thranduil's unscathed blue eye was clouded, his vision tinged with black. Without any real supplies, the healers were nearly powerless against their king's horrible burns, so could only resort to talking to him constantly to keep him awake, and killing off any nearby orcs. Galion crouched next to his friend, wanting to scream and dive into a mud puddle to stay there forever, but he knew that would not benefit Thranduil in any way.

Thranduil stared at the battlefield, confusion filling his mind. "What…is Celeberyn…doing…over there?" he asked slowly. His son appeared to be standing on a dragon's head. "Is…this some sort of…joke?" he looked down at his hands, one burned and one not, suddenly feeling something familiar missing. "Where is Legolas?"

Galion swallowed hard, plunging his sword into an orc's throat before answering, "My lord, you sent the prince away with Aredhel to safety."

"I…..did? No, I didn't! I couldn't have. I need him by my side!"

"My lord, it's too dangerous. A messenger has reported that b-b-back at the palace, the elflings inside have…almost all….." Galion bowed his head and couldn't continue.

Tears immediately filled the king's eye as he thought of all the families and innocent elflings, full of energy and joy running around in the palace. _No. That's impossible. It cannot be true._ His fuzzy vision suddenly sharpened as he fully took in the death and destruction all around. "No…" he whispered. Both elves and orcs lay over the blood soaked ground, their eyes darkened forever. They would never see the stars again, never stand among the trees, never smile, and never see their families laugh.

"Thranduil…" Galion felt like he should break down and bawl like a baby. The expression on his friend's face was of pure fear, something he'd never seen before. Thranduil was known to be stubborn and hold onto hope in even the darkest situations. "My lord, do not give up hope.

_Hope?_ Thranduil wanted to laugh. _What hope remains, when the only hope, the only green leaf, is not here? Oh my dear Legolas…how I wish you could comfort me….yet I know I made the right choice, for if anything happened to you, you might very well take Ada with you. _The king finally couldn't contain himself anymore, and completely broke down, tears streaming down his bloodstained face. He cried for his kingdom, his people, his forest, his Celeberyn, his dear little Legolas, and yes, his own burned body. His tears came from both the agony in his heart, and a paralyzing fear.

The warriors around Thranduil couldn't bear to hear their king in such pain, and each started crying along with him, until much of the Mirkwood army was composed of weeping elves, who, to the orcs horror, fought even harder then before.

Part of Thranduil felt ashamed that he, as a king, should be so weak. But his fatherly side didn't care, and just wanted to curl up and die. His spirit was floating around in his numb shell, as if he were already dead.

"Thranduil," Galion crouched next to his friend, forcing himself to control his swirling emotions. "Don't feel ashamed. Prince Celeberyn has taken charge, and we will take care of the kingdom. You are not weak, my lord."

_Thank you, Galion. You have stuck by me all these years, and I've never properly thanked you._ Had he been fully conscious, Thranduil would have given a speech to his friend, but being in such a vulnerable position, all he could do was nod as his thoughts flew away to join his little green leaf.

* * *

Aredhel's feet flew over the ground, barely touching the mud. He tightened his grip on Legolas, who was screaming and crying, trying to leap out of the warrior's arms.

"Aredhel!" one of the elves who had finally recovered from his shock, glanced at him and fear and horror. Having not known what had happened, the elf looked back at him in dread. "Th-th-the king…he….my lord was…b-b-b-burn-burned by d-dragonfire."

"What?!" Aredhel halted to a stop, staring at the warrior in shock. "You lie!"

"No! My lord Legolas…saw too…"

So that's why he was so scared. Aredhel patted the elfling's back soothingly and slowly started jogging again. The elf was numb with disbelief as he forced his legs to take them farther from the battlefield. A few orcs had followed, but were swiftly killed by the warriors accompanying Aredhel. _No. King Thranduil cannot be dead. He cannot be._ He had never really spent any time with him, but loved him as his king nonetheless. Thranduil was an amazing elf, always thinking of others and making his decisions based on what would be best for his people. Aredhel also saw how he interacted with his sons, and couldn't help but feel an incredible love for the royal family.

Aredhel's eyes picked up the outline of a village up ahead, and he ran faster, knowing that he needed to get Legolas to warmth as soon as possible. The elfling was shivering terribly, even though the rain had stopped in this area of the forest. "Just a little farther, my lord. Just a little farther."

The elves approached closer and closer to the village, but a strange feeling started growing in Aredhel's gut. A warning. There was something terribly wrong.

"Aredhel…."

The warrior shot a sideways glance at his companions, knowing that they'd also felt it. Before he could reply, Aredhel's eyes widened as he saw silhouettes of orcs swarming around in the village. _By the Valar! It's infested with the cursed creatures!_ He immediately ducked behind a tree to avoid being seen by the disgusting things.

He exchanged horrified glances with his companions. The next nearest village was at least a few more hours' run, and they needed to get the prince to shelter as soon as possible. Without the need to exchange words, the warriors immediately turned and swiftly took off again, praying that Legolas could hold on.

* * *

Legolas was crying. He had been quietly sobbing the entire time as Aredhel raced through the forest, scared and confused. He couldn't get the terrifying image out of his mind, of his father being consumed by fire. The elfling's head throbbed, his nose ran, and he couldn't even wipe it on Aredhel's metal armor. He remembered the times when he was crying, and Celeberyn would wipe his nose for him.

Oh, how Legolas wished it were his Ada or Cel that was carrying him right now! And where were they even going? Why did his father send him away? What was happening to Mirkwood?

The elfling's head swam with a thousand questions that couldn't be answered as tears continued to stream down his little face.

Suddenly, Legolas heard Aredhel starting to sing a lullaby. It was one his father sung to him numerous times at night, and reminded him of Thranduil. He was overwhelmed with familiar memories and feelings of warmth and security, slowly causing him to relax. Before long, Legolas had dropped into a deep sleep.

Aredhel continued singing until he knew for sure the prince was asleep, then focused all his attention back to running. He poured every last bit of strength into his legs and forced himself to go faster. The other warriors stumbled slightly but kept up, determined to protect Legolas. Aredhel knew they couldn't keep this up for long. It would soon be nighttime, and the temperature would drop even lower. There was no way they could afford to stay out in the woods with little Legolas. Elves were normally unbothered by the cold, but due to sheer exhaustion and the emotional attacks of the day, they didn't know whether or not their prince could hold on.

When the exhausted warriors finally spotted the village in the distance, Aredhel fought the urge to sit down and gaze at it in relief.

"Thank the Valar!" one of the elves gasped, and Aredhel nodded his agreement.

But the darkness must have been especially cruel.

For, to the warriors' absolute horror, the village was heavy with orc activity. Elves were running out of their houses, fighting the creatures, and protecting their children. Screams and growls were evident in the still air, slicing through the young night like a dagger.

Aredhel backed up, tightening his hold on Legolas. "No…" he whispered. The next village was several hours away, and there was no way the exhausted warriors would be able to reach it.

"Aredhel….." One of his companions looked at him in hopelessness, panting hard. They had been engaged deeply in intense battle, and now sprinting for many hours. Their elven bodies couldn't take it much longer.

Aredhel backed up in despair, and retreated into the trees. His knees finally buckled and he slid to the ground in a heap, gasping. His throat screamed for a few drops of water, which he regrettably couldn't supply. He caught his breath for a couple minutes, then cradled Legolas in his arms, staring at his little face lovingly.

_You, my prince, are the most adorable elfling I have ever seen_. Aredhel's heart broke for him, and he internally stabbed himself for not being able to bring him to safety. What was wrong with the villages? Were they all infested with orcs? Did King Thranduil know? What were they to do? The warrior wanted to stand up and slash his way through the village to kill every single orc, but that thought was quickly thrown away. Instead, he turned to one of his companions.

"I'm sorry, I don't even know your name. Would you mind telling?"

"Just call me Duilwen." The elf answered, smiling weakly.

"Duilwen, I….I regret asking….but…."

"I understand, Aredhel. As soon as I catch my breath, I'll return to King Thranduil as soon as possible to let him know the situation."

Aredhel wanted to hug the elf, cry in relief, and beat himself in guilt. "I'm sorry, I know we're all exhausted, and I would go myself, but – "

"No need, mellon nin. The king entrusted Prince Legolas to you, and it is my honor to serve him. I swear I will return safely, and relay everything we know to my lord."

"Hannon le, Duilwen," Aredhel whispered.

"Don't thank me," the warrior grinned. "I go willingly." He leaned back against a tree and smiled up at the sky, his breathing gradually returning to normal.

Aredhel turned guiltily to the other five warriors, asking for their names and apologizing for his rudeness. They didn't mind, and introduced themselves as Aphadon, Argeleb, Gurthang, Helluin, and Sirion.

After a short while, Duilwen stood up, and after a quick goodbye, sprinted off back the way they came. The night grew darker and colder, but the elves dared not light a fire, for fear of attracting the orcs. Their keen ears could still hear screams and clashing swords, and it took all their self control to not leap up and charge into the village.

Aredhel removed his armor and tossed the metal pieces aside, hugging Legolas close to share his warmth. He drew his knees up and shivered in the cool air, hoping that the temperature wouldn't drop any further. The elfling wouldn't be able to survive.

Helluin glanced over at the little prince worriedly, then took off the outer layer of his tunic and offered it to Aredhel. "For prince Legolas," he explained.

Aredhel looked at him in concern. "Wha….are you sure?"

Helluin grinned and took Legolas, wrapping him with the tunic before gently placing him back in Aredhel's arms. "The prince comes first."

Then the other four warriors, without a second thought, also gave up their outer tunics to wrap Legolas, and before long the elfling was snuggly bundled up, sleeping peacefully. Aredhel smiled and cleaned the prince's face of dirt and any bloodstains. He held him tightly as they settled down and prepared to sit through the night.

"Rest up, my friends," Aredhel murmured. "For tomorrow there's a lot more running ahead of us." _And please, don't let the darkness grow colder, for then even the bright hope of Mirkwood might not be able to survive. _

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thank you so much! There's never enough time in the world, and I feel honored that you're spending yours here reading my stuff. ^^**

**I'm sorry I'm not able to respond to everyone's reviews, but I definitely read all of them and they make my day! **

**Thank you! **


	4. Where is he?

**Hey everyone!**

**Thank you all so much for your support! I'm so glad you all like this story so much! **

**So I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter... XD**

**My plot bunny went completely crazy, and now I have him on a leash, but it'd not helping too much...I apologize if I'm making this way too ridiculous and dramatic...I blame my plot bunny! **

**Disclaimer: Proud to say that Cel is mine. Regrettably say that nothing else is. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Aredhel had never felt cold before. It was a very strange feeling, and he was sure to take mental notes for later, in case he ever had to reference it for some reason. It was indescribable, really, and the warrior was fascinated. He would've been even more interested if he weren't in such a dire situation though.

The elf rested his head against the tree and stared up at the sky. The stars were covered by thick dark clouds, which caused his heart to ache terribly. How he wished he could see their bright light…..His breath puffed in the still air, and as he inhaled, the cold cut into his throat sharply like a frozen weapon.

"Aredhel…" Sirion, one of the warriors accompanying Aredhel, suddenly looked at him with wide eyes and an expression full of warning. "There's something….coming."

_By the Valar! Can we not even sit through this one night? _The group had been able to rest peacefully for several hours, but Aredhel had hoped that they would survive the entire time without incident.

Not feeling like extending his senses to check, Aredhel wearily asked Sirion how many orcs were on their way.

"Thirty or so," was the answer, and the warrior wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. _Really? When will those foul creatures learn their lesson and leave us alone?_

Aredhel looked at Legolas in his arms and sighed, hoping that they'd be able to get little prince to safety soon. "Get up, mellyn nin." He said in a low voice to his companions. "We must go now."

The other five elves shifted from their positions and stood up immediately as Aredhel moved Legolas so he was holding him tightly with only one arm. He soundlessly gestured for everyone to climb into the trees, and leaped up to grab a thick limb, pulling himself up with one hand. The warriors followed quickly, until all five were perched stealthily on thin branches, hidden among the leaves.

Once in the tree, Aredhel could indeed see the pack of orcs stomping through the forest, snarling and clashing their swords together. _At least _try _to be sneaky. Seriously…this is ridiculous. They can scare away any creature within several miles. _

Legolas shifted in Aredhel's arm and rubbed his eyes, starting to wake up. Aredhel cringed inwardly, wishing that the elfling was able to sleep a few hours longer. The little prince looked up at him in confusion, and asked,

"Where's Ada?"

Aredhel's mouth opened but no sound came out, as he racked his brain for a comforting reply. His own heart was still torn for his king, so how could he reassure the prince? "He….." the warrior forced himself to smile weakly as if nothing terrible had happened. "My lord is really busy right now, so we're going to go somewhere for a while until he gets everything all sorted out."

"Why did he send me away? Ada never sends me away when he's busy! And where's Cel?"

"…..Um….well…..there's something serious happening at Mirkwood, and the king has to deal with it and doesn't want you to get hurt. The crown prince is helping the king and should be fine."

"You're lying!"

Aredhel couldn't reply to that. Instead, he beckoned to his companions and forced himself to jump onto a neighboring tree. To his horror, he felt his balance stumble and his feet slipped from under him. The elf grabbed at a thin branch to catch himself before both he and the prince went crashing to the ground. _What is wrong with me? I've never stumbled before!_ Aredhel felt Legolas shiver in his arms and clenched his teeth in determination, yanking himself up. He'd never done anything one-armed before, much less with the elfling prince of Mirkwood clinging to him. But a steel mask of resolve covered Aredhel's face as he inched to the edge of the branch. _Well, there's always a first time for everything, right? I just can't afford to fail on my first try. No pressure._

The warriors leapt from tree to tree, traveling farther and farther from both the palace and the disgusting orcs. The night gradually grew lighter, until the sky was painted with streaks of orange and red as the sun inched its way up. Aredhel really wished he could stand still and appreciate the beauty, but continued running ceaselessly.

Their feet flew over the tree branches, leather boots barely grazing the rough bark before pushing off again. Leaves whipped by their faces and their long hair streamed behind them like silky rivers. They passed a couple more towns, both which were infested with orcs. The kingdom looked to be in very bad shape. This tore at Aredhel, who wanted nothing more then to turn around and charge screaming to send every orc who dared show themselves back to where they came. However, his wish to protect Legolas was even stronger and caused his legs to fly tirelessly between the trees.

"Do any of you know of a secluded place where the prince can be safe?" Aredhel asked desperately, as the group paused on a tree branch to catch their breaths. The sun was now pretty high overhead, mercilessly beating down its heat and light.

They all thought hard, until at last Aphadon spoke up. "There is a small house several miles from here. It stands alone and isn't very easy to spot. I've used it a couple times during hunting trips. We should be okay there."

Aredhel nodded and they leapt back into motion. The elf's throat was parched and dry, and he desperately wished for water. He knew that Legolas must be terribly thirsty too, and begged that he'd be able to hold on for just a little longer.

When the warriors finally spotted the tiny cottage sitting snugly on the ground surrounded by massive trees, Aredhel fought the urge to scream and run in circles like an elfling. They dashed for the building more in excitement then relief.

Aredhel's feet gladly found earth again, and he stumbled on the unfamiliar feeling of solid ground. The structure was indeed very small and low-built but sturdy looking, with a small chimney and round windows. Swirling designs soared along the sides and covered the smooth door, adding a delicate touch.

Aredhel asked his companions to search for water and food, as he entered the house. It clearly had been empty for quite a while. Dust had settled on the ground and flew up in puffs with every step, flying in the warrior's face. He coughed and waved a hand in front of his face as he surveyed the small space, which consisted of a small kitchen to one side, a fireplace, and a bed. Simple and sweet.

Aredhel crossed swiftly over to the bed and gently laid Legolas down, immediately feeling a strange empty feeling in his arm. The elfling sat on the bed numbly. He had been quiet the entire trip, trying still to process his situation.

Aredhel knelt in front of him, looking up at his prince's face in concern. The once innocent and lively elfling had taken on an expression of confusion and hollowness, tearing at Aredhel's heart. _You shouldn't have to experience this, my lord. I wish I could take it all away. I wish all of this were a terrible dream._ Aredhel hesitated, and gently asked Legolas, "My lord, are you alright?" _What a ridiculous question! Of course he's not alright!_

After a long moment, Legolas opened his mouth, searching for a name. "Um….uh.."

"Aredhel," the warrior supplied quietly.

"Aredhel…..where are we? Where is Ada? Why did he send me here? When can I go home? Will he come visit me here? What happened to him? Ada told me to never touch fire. Is he in trouble? I have to go help him!" Fear paralyzed Legolas as the image of his father consumed by dragonfire replayed itself again and again in his mind. He could not get it out of his head, and it terrified him. He also remembered his brother's scream, something he had never ever heard before. Legolas was also extremely confused. His father never sent him away for anything, ever. Was he in trouble? Maybe his ada found out that Legolas was the one that pranked him two years ago, and was mad at him. He needed to apologize immediately, that's what he was always taught. He had no idea who Aredhel was or where they were.

Legolas also physically felt really strange. His body was weak and there was a sharp pain in his chest, over where his heart was. He felt weirdly dizzy, and there was dull ache in the back of his head that wouldn't go away.

Aredhel swallowed hard as he tried to think of a response for his prince. "My lord…." He started slowly. "I'm going to try to explain, but if you don't understand completely, it's okay. Basically, Mirkwood is in a tight situation right now, and king Thranduil needs to figure out how to rescue the kingdom. The situation is kind of dangerous, and he asked me to take you somewhere safe so you wouldn't get hurt. We're in a small hunting house some distance away from the palace, but our stay here is temporary. We'll return before you know it, and you'll get to see your Ada again, alright?"

"No! It's not alright. I want to see him right now! Why does Ada have to send me away? He never does!" Legolas smiled as he added, "He says I make all his frustrations go away."

Upon hearing these words, Aredhel couldn't contain it any longer and completely broke down, crying hard for the kingdom and the precious royal family. He buried his arms on the bed as tears ran down his face freely.

Legolas, alarmed, patted Aredhel's head as his own fear level shot up, seeing the warrior weep in such a broken way. Something terrible must have happened back home.

Feeling Legolas try to encourage him caused Aredhel to cry even harder. _Oh Illuvatar, why must you cause so much pain to this elfling? Spare him, I beg you._

Suddenly, one of Aredhel's companions, Argeleb, burst into the house, eyes wide. His words froze in his throat and his heart broke when he saw his fellow warrior sobbing uncontrollably, and his little prince's grief stricken expression. "A-Aredhel…."

Aredhel forced himself to get under control as he held in the last of the sobs and lifted his head, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"It'll be okay, Aredhel." On hearing the elfling's voice, the warrior looked up into Legolas' face, taking in his terrified expression which he was struggling to hide. The little prince must be broken beyond compare, and yet he was still comforting Aredhel.

Aredhel took the elfling's little hand and kissed it gently. "Hannon le, my prince. I will take care of you, I swear it." He whispered. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned towards Argeleb absently. "What is it, mellon nin?"

"Aredhel…..o-o-o-orc-orcs are….they're…."

Aredhel's gold eyes widened in disbelief. "No! Impossible! They cannot be!" he shook his head in horror, silver tears sliding onto his cheeks. "They cannot be."

"What's wrong?" Legolas whispered in fear.

Aredhel forced a smile onto his face. "It's okay, my prince. Just stay here, and don't move, okay? We have to go outside to do something, but we'll be back before you know it. And don't make any sounds. Please, my lord."

Legolas nodded, a cold chill beginning to take over his little body. The warrior had the elfling lie down on the bed as if sleeping, and pulled the blanket over him.

Aredhel stood up and exited the house, deep rage, hatred, and terror building in his heart. How did the creatures find them? Will they ever be safe? The warriors' armors were left behind in the forest, but their swords will still strapped snuggly around their waists, and Aredhel drew it in one smooth motion, preparing to defend Legolas with his life.

The other warriors had returned, and stationed themselves all around the small house just as the orcs started stomping into view. Aredhel clenched his hand around the hilt of his sword, but to his horror, saw his arm shaking. The exhaustion, both emotional and physical, were kicking in. The warrior gritted his teeth. _I cannot fail. I cannot fail. I cannot fail._

Aredhel swung his sword and sliced the head off the first orc, diving into automatic battle mode. He kicked another creature hard in the stomach and stabbed it in the chest while dodging another's blow to his head, in turn impaling the orc and shoving aside the disgusting body.

He spun around and swiftly engaged a creature that was attempting to enter the little house. Aredhel easily ducked its swinging attacks, and plunged his sword deep into its heart, yanking it back out quickly as the body dropped to the ground.

The warriors were each deeply engaged in battle. Black blood sprayed in the air and orc screams pierced the heavens, as the sound of metal on metal screeched in rhythm. There was occasionally a groan from an elven warrior as red blood dripped to the ground, but they quickly recovered and orc heads rolled off shoulders like fruit falling from trees. The elves fought hard and prevented any orc from approaching the house.

Except for one.

For as most of the creatures were dead and the battle started to reach an end, a single orc managed to evade the elves and sneaked into the tiny house, as if looking for something specific. The orc's dark eyes zeroed in on the little golden-haired elfling lying under the covers on the bed, and his slimly lips pulled back in a smile to reveal sharp yellow teeth. He approached the bed slowly, armor clanking loudly as he raised his sword. _What a disgustingly perfect elfling. How wonderful it would feel to destroy it!_

The creature cackled and thrust down his sharp weapon. A scream pierced through the air as metallic blood splattered on the ground.

* * *

Aredhel sliced the head off one of the few remaining orcs, pausing to catch his breath. He couldn't remember the last time that fighting had tired him. As far as he knew, it never did. His knees buckled and the warrior slid to the ground, leaning on his sword, which was stained black with orc blood. His hands shook uncontrollably, but he had no idea why. Aredhel looked over at Sirion and Gurthang, who were beside him. They exchanged weak but triumphant smiles. The orcs had all been killed, and from what they knew, no reinforcements were on their way.

Aredhel's smile faded as he suddenly felt a strange chill run down his spine that made his blood freeze. _Legolas!_ The warrior stumbled up and burst into the house, just as he saw an orc swing his sword down at the little prince.

Aredhel dove for Legolas, gold eyes wide in terror. He brought a hand up just as the sword came down, slicing into the warrior's forearm. He clenched his teeth against the pain and told Legolas to avert his eyes before he swung his sword and took the orc's head clean off. Aredhel stood there, breathing hard, knowing that the little prince had almost just lost his life. After a moment, he proceeded to quickly drag out the orc body from the house, and to check for any more creatures outside, forcing his exhausted body to obey his determined mind's commands.

* * *

Argeleb was a new warrior. He'd just passed his ceremony a month ago, and never thought that his first battle would be one that involved the safety of the entire kingdom. Needless to say, the young elf was terrified. The images of death and blood were imprinted in his mind, causing his own to run cold as he struggled to collect his courage. Being sent to protect prince Legolas was the highest honor he could dream of, and he was determined to fulfill his duty no matter what.

Argeleb's body shook as he gazed at the aftermath of the small battle. Thankfully, none of the five elven warriors had lost their lives or sustained serious injuries. The elf stuck his sword in the dirt as they started piling up the orc bodies, kicking together any severed heads. It disgusted Argeleb to touch the foul things, but he forced himself to do so.

Deciding to check on Legolas, the warrior entered the small house. What he didn't know, was that an orc had reached the little prince, but was killed by Aredhel. Aredhel had left the house, and Argeleb hadn't seen him since the start of the small fight.

Argeleb's blood ran cold and his heart froze in horror when he saw Legolas lying on the bed, covered in blood.

Legolas, upon being told to not move or make a sound, was still frozen in fear and refused to even wipe Aredhel's blood off his face. It was his first encounter with an orc, and the elfling was scarred forever. The image of the disgusting, twisted face dripping with black blood was seared into the prince's mind. Legolas was so scared that he didn't notice another elven warrior standing in the doorway, mouth open in disbelief.

_No. No. It cannot be. Prince Legolas cannot be….._Argeleb backed out of the house, tears filling his green eyes and his heart constricting in pain. The young warrior, still inexperienced, broke when he saw his prince lying so still. The affects of the fighting, dragons, and death finally caught up to Argeleb, and the elf snapped, the last of his sanity fleeing him.

His mind blanked as he turned and ran into the forest, much to the horror and protests of his companions. He found his feet unconsciously running back the way they'd came, flying faster and faster over the ground. _King Thranduil. King Thranduil. He will die when he hears this! How can I tell him? We've failed. We've failed. We've failed! _Argeleb covered his mouth as a violent sob racked his body, but he forced himself to dash faster in the direction of the palace.

* * *

Thranduil was exhausted, and wanted nothing more then to curl up in a corner and fall asleep forever. His heart ached deeply for Legolas, silver tears streaming down his face. His right eye surveyed the still battlefield, trying to work up some triumphant feelings over their victory. He couldn't.

The orcs had retreated quite a while ago, overwhelmed by the Mirkwood army without their dragon allies. All five dragons were killed, but the damage they left behind was devastating. Trees still burned with orange flames, some snapped like toothpicks in the mud. Warriors and orcs lay all over the ground, still and pale, eyes dark as ink. Black and red blood pooled all over the place, shooting a metallic smell in the air.

Warriors walked slowly through the battlefield, tending to injured comrades and mourning the fallen. Thranduil still couldn't feel the left side of his body, and it was starting to worry him. His vision was also still tinged with black. That was pretty annoying.

Galion leaned down and placed a hand on his friend's unscathed shoulder. "Thranduil," he whispered. "The battle's over. Mirkwood is saved."

Thranduil nodded numbly to Galion's words, as the healers discussed on how to move their king. Apparently, somehow part of the healing rooms had survived and were able to access, so Thranduil would be able to be properly treated. He didn't see the need to rush, but the elves were terrified and desperate to get help to their king as soon as possible. In fact, if they had it their way, Thranduil would already be lying on a bed, smothered with salves, light magic, and bandages. But, being the stubborn Thranduil the kingdom all knew, he had forced the healers to go help those "worse then he was", even though the king was clearly suffering the most.

As Thranduil watched numbly, Celeberyn stumbled over to his father, thoroughly exhausted and emotionally spent. He had fought his heart and mind out the entire battle, and now, with the sun beating down on the forest, reality finally slammed in and he collapsed next to Thranduil, panting violently. The injury on his abdomen had stopped bleeding, but sapped at his strength until the crown prince felt like an already dead shell floating around in the air.

"Ada," Celeberyn smiled weakly. "We're safe now. Everything will be okay. We have to get you back to the healing rooms. You'll be okay." The prince's smile faded as his stomach convulsed and blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth.

Thranduil reached up a shaking hand and cupped his son's muddy, blood stained face. His mind was jumbled even worse then before, and he could hardly grasp onto anything. It were as if all his thoughts were floating around in the sky, and whenever he tried to reach up to grab any specific one, it would fly away even farther. But one thought ran clear as a river as he gazed into the face of Celeberyn. "I'm proud of you, ion nin." He murmured.

Tears filled Celeberyn eyes and fell onto Thranduil's hand. The prince knew that his father had been uttering nonsense the entire battle, due to his shock and paralyzing fear. To hear those words, clear and confident, filled Celeberyn's heart with joy.

"Ada. Ada. You're going to be okay." He whimpered, kissing Thranduil's right cheek.

Celeberyn exchanged glances with the healers, and he forced his exhausted legs to stand. "Ada, we're going to get you to the healing rooms, okay?"

Thranduil looked up at his son in confusion, the words penetrating his brain several moments after they were uttered. He tilted his head, trying to comprehend what Celeberyn just said. Elves busied around the king, doing what, Thranduil had no idea. He only knew that fear and horror radiated from them like tidal waves.

The healers tied the final knot on their makeshift stretcher, composed of several relatively clean cloaks and two long spears. They had no way of transporting their king except with this, which was crude and unfit for Thranduil. But it will have to do. They wished that they had gotten to the healing rooms a long time ago, but Thranduil had commanded them to tend to others, despite his horrid condition. This only increased the warriors' respect for their king, but also their fear for his life.

Thranduil felt Celeberyn's strong hands gently picking him up, and found himself being laid on something soft, which puzzled him. But now that he was lying down, his body finally gave in and he felt himself being pulled towards unconsciousness. Celeberyn, terror possessing his body, desperately talked to his father to stop him from falling asleep. For he feared that if Thranduil were to close his eyes, they would never open again. Four warriors picked up the stretcher and started hurrying towards the palace, with the crown prince sticking close to his father. The fact that they were approaching the destroyed palace really caused the king's mind to fly into a deeper jumble. They were headed back to the palace. The palace…..he saw it burned. Saw it burned. Legolas!

He turned to Celeberyn, eye wide in horror. "Legolas."

"Yes, Ada." The crown prince replied brokenly. "Legolas is okay. He is far away, and safe." It tore at Celeberyn's already torn heart to think that he may not see his little brother again for a while. But it was for the best. They didn't know if they'd escaped danger yet, and Legolas was better off somewhere far and safe. The warrior Duilwen had arrived a while ago, informing the royal family of the situation of the towns and villages.

The news had not helped Thranduil's condition.

"Legolas….." Thranduil fixed his mind on his little son, knowing that whatever battle they'd just been through was to protect him, and all the people in his kingdom. This thought filled the king with relief and joy, that his people would be safe.

Celeberyn walked next to the stretcher, keeping his eyes glued on his father to see if anything changed in his condition. They were walking at an agonizingly slow pace, and the crown prince wanted to swing Thranduil on his back and sprint towards the healing rooms. However, he knew that would only worsen the king's burns, and he couldn't afford to do that. Thranduil was already injured so badly that the healers were terrified that he may not even survive.

Celeberyn felt like the closer they approached the palace, the farther away it was. He shook his head in confusion, trying to clear his mind. But all he saw was the world in streaks of color, which blurred in and out. He stumbled, and felt Galion steady him. The crown prince was suddenly very confused. Where in Arda did Galion come from? Last he saw, the elf was on the other side of the battlefield, directing warriors on what to do. _What is wrong with me? _Celeberyn directed his focus on his father, trying to toss aside the strange confusion in his mind.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elves finally did manage to arrive at and enter the palace, shoving aside the debris to reach the healing rooms. The palace was destroyed beyond compare, which ripped at Celeberyn's heart. Smoke wafted thickly through the air and ash fell from the ceiling. Here and there, small fires still burned, which were quickly extinguished. Thick pieces of wood and chunks of stone clogged up the hallways, making it impossible to reach any area besides the healing rooms. It was made even more difficult by having to very carefully maneuver the stretcher around the destruction. Just as the elves stepped into the doorway of the healing room, an exhausted warrior dashed up to Thranduil, tears streaming down his face and gasping for air.

Thranduil recognized him as one of the new warriors, and could still call him by name even in his shocked, confused state. "Argeleb." He was also one of the elves the king sent to protect Legolas. There was only one reason he would be here. "Legolas!"

Argeleb, with sweat pouring down his face, stared down at his king in horror. He hadn't seen how badly Thranduil was injured up close, and now felt about ready to faint. The left side of the king's body was burned into a charred appearance, and his right eye held a strange confused look. It broke him to see Thranduil in such a position. "My king…." He whispered in dread.

"Legolas!" Thranduil interrupted. "Is he safe?"

The warrior swallowed with difficulty, tears springing into his eyes. How could he break it to his king? How could he, with Thranduil already in such a vulnerable state?

"Please, speak." That was crown prince Celeberyn, and Argeleb wanted to shrink into a hole. The death of Legolas was impossible for even him to comprehend. What would it be like for the royal family? The death of Legolas…..oh Valar.

Argeleb opened his mouth and forced his throat to produce some sound. "M-m-m-my lord….we-we were a-a-attacked by o-o-o-orcs and…prince L-L-Leg-Lego-Legolas….he…my lord was….is….d-d-d-d….."

Celeberyn felt like someone had found the chunks of his heart in the mud and sliced them into a million pieces. His soul immediately detached and flew off. Disbelief and horror filled his empty shell of a body. "You…." His blue green eyes were huge and his mouth dropped open in terror. "You lie!" he yelled. "You lie!"

Argeleb dropped to his knees, tears filling his eyes. "My lord Legolas…" he burst into tears and placed his hand over his heart, crying harder then he'd ever cried before in his life. The dam restraining his young emotions finally broke, releasing wave after wave of heart wrenching sobs. The shock finally faded, replaced by unimaginable grief. He had never felt such pain in his life. He thought of Legolas, the little prince, running around the palace, his joyful laugh echoing around the palace like twinkling bells.

Celeberyn backed away from Argeleb, feeling a strange smile spread on his face. "You're joking. That's impossible. Impossible." Rage filled the prince's mind. "Stop lying! This isn't funny!" Tears filled his eyes, but he still refused to comprehend the warrior's words. He looked down at his hands, and suddenly felt the urge to take Argeleb's sword and end this searing pain in his chest.

The elvenking looked at Argeleb in confusion. What? Thranduil tilted his head, staring up at the warrior. What did he say? His little green leaf must be safe. Legolas _must_ be. He is hope. He would never leave Thranduil. He would never leave. And yet Argeleb was saying something strange. Strange. Something bad had happened to his son. The king watched as the warrior's mouth opened again and five words dropped from his lips.

"My lord Legolas….is dead."

At these words, Thranduil's entire world collapsed.

* * *

**Sooo...hope it wasn't too horrible...again, I really apologize if I'm getting out of hand with the ridiculousness/drama with this story...hopefully you'll stick around til the end? ^_^**

**Thank you SO much for taking the time to read my extremely long chapter...(I really need to work on shortening them！）**

**Reviews are awesome and greatly appreciated!**

**More chapters to come, hopefully soon...**

**Thank you！！！！**


	5. Darkness

**Hi everyone! **

**I am so so sorry this chapter is so late, and thank you all for your patience and support!**

**A HUGE thanks to everyone who reviews, and I'm really sad that I can't reply to the guests, but I definitely read all of your words and you guys make my day ^_^ **

**Ok, so for some reason in the last chapter everyone thought I killed Legolas...I'll try to be more clear in the future. ...I'm not THAT cruel... ^_^ **

**Anyways, so I didn't know that I'd have this chapter up so soon, but I do! yayyy! pretty proud of myself for that...**

**However, there'll be no updates till after March 21, so thank you all for your patience! **

**The problem with my plot bunny has gotten slightly out of hand...I now have him on a leash to try and minimize the damage he does, but it doesn't seem to be helping much. So I blame my plot bunny for this story, which I've sort of gotten carried away with...**

**Enjoy!**

Words were cool. Thranduil liked words. Words were beautiful doors opening to different elves and different situations, flowing between worlds and connecting ideas of all places. Words were little surprises wrapped up in layers of emotion, like the candies with soft fillings elflings loved to eat. Words allowed for talking and conversation.

Thranduil loved to talk, and loved to listen to others talk. Talking expressed feelings and built up strong relationships. Talking was Thranduil's favorite activity. He loved to talk with Legolas, Celeberyn, Galion, his advisors, and basically any living thing besides orcs or spiders. There were always words for every occasion.

Except this one.

There were absolutely no words.

_My lord Legolas….is dead._

Argeleb's five words penetrated Thranduil's mind from another world, and when they finally reached him, the king immediately rejected them. Those words just didn't exist in Thranduil's life. He didn't know what they meant.

Thranduil slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position on the stretcher, looking at Argeleb in confusion. He asked the warrior to explain himself, for he could not understand him. To the king, the two words "Legolas" and "dead" would never be spoken together.

Before Argeleb could reply, Celeberyn's knees suddenly buckled and he collapsed limply to the floor. The healers gently set the king down in alarm and rushed over to the crown prince. Part of Thranduil's brain started screaming to him about not being able to protect his sons, while the other part just sort of detached…..and floated away, taking most of his soul with it.

The king's ears heard words streaming quietly from the healers' lips, but they were terrible words that Thranduil wished he would never hear in his life. "_By the Valar…..!" "My lord is exhausted" "The wound on his stomach doesn't help" "He's lost a lot of blood" "The emotional attacks have been too much." "He's fading." "Oh Iluvatar….." _

Another piece of Thranduil's heart broke as he continued to stare up at Argeleb, still waiting for an answer.

Argeleb forced himself to get under control just enough so he could reply to his king. After several moments of shuddering sobs, the young warrior finally gathered enough voice to hoarsely whisper the story. "My lord, we escaped like you ordered, and after a long period of running we reached one of the small hunting houses in the forest. We were chased by orcs. We thought we had outrun them, but they caught up to us. We had the prince stay in the house while we were stationed outside to protect him. We managed to defeat the orcs, and after the battle, I went in to check on my prince. B-b-but I-I-I s-s-s-saw…"

Thranduil suddenly snapped harshly at the warrior to stop speaking, something he'd never done before. Argeleb immediately fell silent, tears streaking down his face, heart breaking for his king.

No words. As Thranduil's mind reeled in shock and horror, cheerful words that had once been uttered from Legolas' lips suddenly flew into clarity one after the other, overwhelming and shattering him.

_Ada! Ada! Look what I found today! It's a worm! We can use it when we go fishing!_

_Ada! I have an owie on my finger. Kiss it to make it better! _

_Ada! Guess what I learned at school today?!_

_Ada! Look what I drew for you! It's your portrait!_

_Ada, I'm going to practice archery every day, and become the best warrior ever!_

_But Ada, I don't want a bath. I like being muddy! _

_Ada! Don't be frustrated, I'll play with you and you'll be happy again! _

_Make sure you don't stay up too late working, Ada. It's not good for your health. _

_Ada, I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?_

_Ada, there are monsters under my bed. _

_Ada, take me to the forest tomorrow! please? _

_Ada, can you teach me instead of Handir? You're so much more interesting!_

_I love you Ada!_

_Ada, when I grow up, I'm going to make you super proud!_

Thranduil clenched his fists, trying desperately to memorize the sound of his elfling's voice and absorb all the memories of Legolas talking and laughing. It hurt _so _much. Each word tore deeper and deeper in his soul, causing such pain in his heart that the king gasped aloud. _I'm sorry, my son. I'm sorry. Ada has failed you. _

Thranduil looked up and his blue eye widened as he saw the image of Legolas running towards him, giggling and wearing a huge smile on his face, arms extended for a hug. _"Ada! I finished my lessons early! Play with me, please!" _

"Legolas….." Thranduil whispered, slowly reaching out his hand to meet his son. But for some reason, Legolas seemed to be running farther and farther away from him. The king gasped in alarm when the elfing started crying, desperately trying to get to his father. The two were separating, and to Thranduil's horror, Legolas' image started to fade. "No!" Thranduil's eye widened and he realized that he was the one moving away. _"Ada!" _Legolas seemed to cry. _"I'm scared of the dark, and I don't want to be alone!" _

Thranduil suddenly felt a cold numbness seizing his body. It was as if frost had settled on him and raced up to his brain, stopping all thoughts except one. The king smiled slightly as he looked into the face of his little son. _Don't worry, Legolas. Ada will never leave you alone. _

The king's eyes dimmed and the world faded slowly to black. But Thranduil wasn't upset. In fact, he was excited. He would be able to see his little green leaf again, and this time he would never leave his side.

* * *

Aredhel kicked an orc onto the pile of the dead creatures, spitting at its carcass out of disgust. This one had nearly killed Legolas. "You disgusting spawn of mordor. Go back to where you came from." The warrior muttered. He tossed his sword to the side and entered back into the house without it so he wouldn't scare Legolas. Once inside, his knees buckled in exhaustion but he caught himself on the bed, gently sitting down next to the prince.

Legolas was curled up under the covers, chewing on the bedsheets and eyes wide with fear. He looked up at Aredhel and whimpered, "Is it gone?"

Aredhel smiled slightly, his heart breaking. "Yes, my prince. And they'll never come back again, I swear." He ripped off the edge of a sheet and quickly bound his forearm, trying not to let Legolas see. But it was too late, for the elfling's eyes fixed on the bandage, then whispered,

"Does it hurt?"

"It's okay. Thank you for your concern, my lord." Aredhel winced at the drops of his blood on the prince's face and body. "I am terribly sorry for staining you with my…...I'm sorry, my prince. Let's get you all washed up. Would you like a bath?" the warrior tried for a smile which failed awfully. Legolas made no reaction, and just as Aredhel opened his mouth to try and coax the little prince into bathing, Sirion rushed into the room in alarm.

"Aredhel, Argeleb ran back in the direction of the palace."

"What?" Aredhel turned to him in confusion. "Why?"

The other warrior shook his head, perplexed. "We don't know. Towards the end of the fight, he dashed in here, probably to check on my lord Legolas. He came out looking horrified, then just took off."

_What?_ "What could have caused him to do this?"

"Perhaps the stress was too much for him. After all, he is a new warrior."

Aredhel paused and sighed. "True. That's probably it. We can't do anything about it now, and I won't call him a coward, for this really has been a lot to process for someone so young."

Sirion nodded, and Aredhel asked him to bring a tub of water for Legolas. The former warrior left quickly, as the latter turned back to the little prince. But he couldn't stop wondering what would scare Argeleb so much that all rational thought flew away, causing him to run back to the palace. Aredhel knew the young warrior well, and Argeleb had never shown any hesitance, under any situation. In fact, if anything, he was braver then most, and willing to put himself at risk in order to protect others.

Sirion returned quickly with a tub full of fresh water, and Aredhel ripped a piece of bedsheet to use as a cloth. Through a story about Greenwood the Great, the warrior was able to coax Legolas to push back the blankets so he could wash his face. As he gently rubbed the dirt, mud, and tears off the elfling's face, he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, my lord. Everything will be okay."

"When can I see Ada?" Legolas asked bluntly, blue eyes wide like clear pools of water shining with starlight.

_Explain it in a way an elfling can understand! _Aredhel told himself, and after a quick pause, replied, "King Thranduil is a great hero, right?" when Legolas nodded, smiling, the warrior continued. "Well, a hero has to fight for his kingdom. So your father is protecting _everyone_ in Mirkwood right now. But, like all heroes, the king is super brave and selfless, so he asked us to take care of you so you can be safe and he can defend the kingdom. We're in a little hunting house right now, and when the time comes, we'll all return home, but only when the king says so, because he's the hero and heroes always know what's best, right?"

Legolas thought for a second, then nodded, grinning. "Yeah! Ada's a hero! I knew he didn't leave me! He's protecting me!" the elfling giggled as Aredhel wiped his nose with the damp cloth. After a moment, his smile faded and he looked up at the warrior, fear once again arresting his features. "What about Cel? He made a weird sound, and never makes weird sounds. Well, except when we're playing eagle and fishie."

_The crown prince's scream. How are you going to explain that?! _Part of Aredhel's mind yelled. _There's no way you can explain it without giving away what happened! How can you ever tell an elfling who's seen his father get burned, and heard his brother scream, that everything will be okay?!_ Aredhel's smile turned into a wince as he rapidly tried to come up with a logical answer. "Well….you see, my lord, the crown prince was….just scaring away the bad people to protect the kingdom."

The elfling looked at him skeptically. "Really?" a small spark of hope started to grow in his blue eyes.

"Really." Inwardly, Aredhel winced. He was never supposed to lie to the royal family, ever. And now he was spewing lie after lie like an elfling greedily inhaling sweets. _But this is to protect my lord Legolas…._

Legolas grinned. "I knew it! Ada and Cel are both heroes! I'm gonna be just like them when I grow up!"

Aredhel smiled as he continued to wash the prince's face. Now that Legolas was in a better mood, the warrior allowed his thoughts to wander back over to the strange actions of Argeleb.

_He ran in here, to check on Legolas. _Aredhel looked down the elfling, thinking. His gold eyes unconsciously landed on the cloth in his hand, stained dark with his blood. Blood that was previously on the prince's face. Suddenly, he understood. "By the Valar…." He whispered. "He thought my lord Legolas was dead!" paralyzing fear seized Aredhel. _If he's running back to the palace, that means he's going to tell king Thranduil and crown prince Celeberyn. With their conditions, they won't be able to survive the emotional attack…oh Valar._

Aredhel scrambled up and called for a warrior. Helluin entered the house immediately, knowing that something was up. "Mellon nin, I need you to go back to the palace as soon as possible. Argeleb thinks that prince Legolas is dead, and is going to tell the king," Aredhel said in a low voice, careful not to let the elfling hear.

Horror dawned on Helluin's face as he realized what this would mean for the royal family.

"Exactly." Aredhel said in fear. "Can you also return to the palace, and let king Thranduil know that my lord is perfectly alive and well? And also, please return and inform us of the safety conditions so we know when to take my lord Legolas back home."

Helluin nodded vigorously, an expression of worry and determination on his face. "Don't worry, Aredhel. I'll let the king know."

"Hannon le, mellon nin. Hannon le."

The warrior smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't worry, the mighty Helluin won't fail! I'll be off in a short while, and will definitely be back with good news!" He left the house and Aredhel breathed a sigh of relief. _King Thranduil and crown prince Celeberyn will be fine. They'll be fine._

Aredhel looked down at Legolas' little face plastered with a smile, oblivious to the death and destruction of his home. _And so will we. I swear. _

* * *

**3 days later **

Celebeyrn had woken up in many places before, including trees, caves, and one time even in a river. This time, he immediately knew that he was in the healing room, with many elves milling around and the heavy scent of herbs hanging in the air like fog. Was he injured? Probably, but the prince had no memory.

Celeberyn felt soft, cool sheets underneath him, and a thin blanket covering his legs but folded back at his torso, which was bare and wrapped with layers of bandages. His ears picked up the sounds of talking and tools humming in the air, as well as heavy objects being dragged. _They must be repairing something. But what?_ For some reason, the prince could not remember what had previously happened, or why in Arda there were repair sounds around him. _Did I miss something? Is there something wrong?_

Celeberyn decided he should probably open his eyes, and when he did, the light was blinding and immediately a headache seared into his mind. The crown prince could _not_ remember the last time he had a headache. He blinked a couple of times, trying to force his blue green eyes to focus. However, he could only see a haze of color, the world streaked and blurred as if he were looking through a window of frost on a winter day.

Joyful and relieved voices suddenly attacked Celeberyn's ears, echoing around his skull as if a child's ball were bouncing around inside. He briefly considered telling them to all be quiet, but he didn't even have the strength to open his mouth, which really confused the prince.

Elfaron's face suddenly loomed in front of Celeberyn, filling his vision. The crown prince never remembered his friend's face being so….._big_. Or was it his vision that was totally messed up? _Mellon nin, scoot back a little. You're face isn't __**that**_ _pretty. _Under normal circumstances, that's what Celeberyn would've said, and Elfaron, in response, would have smirked and shot back a clever remark.

Not today.

Today, concern and fear marred the warrior's face as he gazed down at his friend. "My lord Celeberyn," He said. "How are you feeling?"

The words seemed unnaturally loud and Celeberyn wanted to just curl up and sleep. Wow. When was the last time he wished _that?_ _There is something seriously wrong with me_. The crown prince concluded. He attempted to roll onto his side, but gasped as agony shot up his body from his stomach, causing the elves in the room to all rush over in alarm. _Wow, really? _Celeberyn sighed, deciding that he needed to have a little chat with his vocal chords. _I can't speak, but I can emit sounds of pain. How embarrassing. _

"My lord, are you alright?"

Celeberyn stared up at the healer, and suddenly he was staring at his father. "Ada?" his voice resembled that of an elfling, as he felt a strange feeling in his chest equivalent to relief. Why would he feel relief? There was absolutely nothing wrong with the king. The image of Thranduil faded until Celeberyn was once again looking up at a healer.

The crown prince shook his head in apology. "I'm sorry, I-" the movement sent a searing pain through his head and Celeberyn groaned, clenching his fists in the sheets as a giant metal hammer seemed to be crushing at his skull.

"Cel!" Elfaron dropped all formalities and crouched next to the bed, looking up at the prince in fear. His eyes whipped to the healers, waiting for an explanation. "From what I heard, Celeberyn didn't hurt his head during the battle." He hissed. "Why is he in such pain?" The warrior felt extreme guilt smashing down on him for not being able to protect his prince. In fact, Elfaron had no idea where Celeberyn had been the entire battle, and mentally beat himself up for it.

"The emotional attacks have been too much for my lord," a healer responded in worry. "His sanity has been on and off, and his mind can't handle it…"

"Well, what can we do?" Elfaron demanded.

"He is still in shock and denial, so right now the only thing that will help is to see king Thranduil and prince Legolas safe and sound."

_And that's the one thing we cannot do._ To their horror, Celeberyn had heard them, and looked up in confusion.

"What do you mean, to see Ada and Legolas safe and sound? Of course they're okay. Ada is always….." The crown prince lifted his head, blue green eyes skimming over the elves in the room. A puzzled expression soon settled on his face, and he frowned. "Ada never leaves me when I'm injured. Is he in a meeting?"

A long period of silence stretched out like noodles as none of the elves felt comfortable to speak up. Celeberyn was suddenly filled with dread and fear. If his father _was_ in a council meeting, there was no way they would be so nervous or worried. He demanded to know what was going on.

After another pause, Elfaron whispered, "Do you remember nothing, Cel?"

"What do you mean?" The crown prince blinked in confusion. "What am I supposed to remember?"

Suddenly an elf entered the room breathlessly, his brown hair tied back in a ponytail and his sleeves rolled back to expose dirty hands. "Elfaron, I need your help in repairing the throne room." His eyes then landed on Celeberyn, who stared at him, perplexed. "My lord!" The elf dropped to his knees and bowed, relief projecting from him like the sun. "You're alright! Thank the Valar! I'm sure the king will be alright too-" he suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide in guilt and horror.

The healers shushed him as Elfaron looked at his friend, his heart breaking for him. "Cel," he whispered. "Promise me that you'll be okay, alright?"

"I promise, but why do you have to repair the throne room? Has it gotten destroy-" Suddenly, without warning, everything came crashing down. The events of the previous days flew into clarity before Celeberyn's eyes one by one, as horror and pain seized his heart. He remembered the orcs. The dragons. Legolas being sent away. The fire burning the palace. His father being consumed by flames. Killing the dragon. The orcs finally surrendering. Receiving the news that Legolas….

Celeberyn burst up in a sitting position, gasping. The movement caused unbearable agony to shoot through his body and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Elfaron cried out in alarm and gripped his friend's shoulder, eyes wide in fear.

"Valar," Celebeyrn choked. "Mirkwood. Mirkwood – "

"Is safe," Elfaron insisted. "We're safe. Everything will be okay."

"No." he gasped, eyes huge and breath coming in quick pants. "Ada. Ada! Where is he? Let me go see him! Please! He's fine, right? Tell me he's okay!" the prince pulled back the sheets and slid painfully to the edge of the bed. But when he tried to stand, his body decided that it didn't like the movement, so he collapsed to his knees, tears streaking down his face. He lifted his head as a flicker of hope appeared in his eyes. "Where is Legolas?" he asked the healers. "I need to see him!"

An even longer period of silence seemed to stretch for hours, and a cold numbness began to settle on Celeberyn's heart. "Where is he?" the prince demanded. "Why are you silent?!"

"My-my lord, please, y-y-you need to rest." One of the healers whispered.

Celeberyn glared at him. "If anything has happened to Legolas, you will tell me!"

"A-A-A-Arg-Argeleb r-r-reported three days ago that m-m-m-m-my l-l-lord Legolas is-is-is-is d-d-d-" the elf bowed his head, unable to continue.

The crown prince's eyes widened and he felt a strange smile spread on his face. _What did they just say? _"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Stop joking. Where is my little brother?" Celeberyn staggered up, feeling blood starting to seep through his bandages. "Where is he?!" he frantically looked around the room, his eyes huge with fear. Elfaron stood up, tears cascading down his face. "My lord." Celeberyn whipped around and grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

"You must have hid my brother somewhere!" He cried. "Why are you doing this to me?!" He stumbled to the door and tried to shove it open, but Elfaron grabbed the prince's arm, begging for him to stop. Celeberyn just looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes, tears flowing over his cheeks. "Legolas wouldn't…" his whimpers were cut off as sobs racked his weak body, heart shattering against the pain. "No….no…." he slid down against the doorframe. "Legolas…no… Please, brother…tell me this is a joke…." Celeberyn closed his eyes, still refusing to believe it. "Legolas…tell me this is a joke."

* * *

Helluin ran. Ran like the wind. Ran like the ocean waves. Ran like an arrow. Ran, not for his own life, but for the lives of his king and prince. The warrior's feet flew over the ground, barely touching it as if he had magically sprouted wings and was able to levitate off the earth. He had one mission, and it was to reach the palace as fast as possible for an elf. His feet still couldn't move quick enough to satisfy his frantic mind though. _Hey, come on, feet!_ He yelled inwardly to himself. _Get moving already! Hurry up or I'll throw you guys out and get a new pair of feet! _

Helluin's keen ears suddenly picked up the sound of orcs in the distance, and he literally wanted to throw himself on the ground and cry and scream in desperation and rage. _Are you __**joking**__? I swear, once this is over, I will hunt down every single orc in Arda and slice its throat with my own hands. _

Helluin decided to climb into the trees, since it'd probably be safer then the ground. The warrior didn't even break his dash as he reached up, grabbed a tree branch, and easily pulled himself up, resuming his run, jumping from tree to tree. He mentally kicked himself for forgetting to bring his bow. Helluin was only armed with two knives and two daggers which were hidden in his boots, and he now longed for his other weapons. _Yeah. Great job, "mighty Helluin"! Really? You sleep with your bow next to the bed, and forget it when it's most critical. Such a wonderful warrior, you are. _Under normal circumstances, Helluin wouldn't be as concerned about the possibility of death as he was now. But now, he _couldn't_ afford to die. the lives of the royal family depended on him. He had to bring the news to the palace that Legolas was alive, no matter what.

_No pressure. _

* * *

**That wasn't too much of a cliffy, right? **

**Anyway, thank you so much again for taking the time to read my ridiculously long chapters. **

**I promise it'll get more Thranduil-centric -ish later, I just have like three different things going on and it's difficult to shove them all in a single chapter at once. **

**Feel free to leave a review! Thank you!**


	6. Strength out of pain

**Hi everyone!**

**Thank you all so much for your patience and sticking with me all this time! I honestly can't believe I'm already on chapter 6 and still have a ways to go...this was originally supposed a oneshot, guys *laughs* ^_^ **

**I promise there's more action planned for later, and more Thranduil-centric chapters to come. **

**So, as a result of Limbairedhiel's gracious suggestion, I'm going to reply to guest reviews here and answer any questions so everyone is able to get the answers ^_^ If you would like me to respond to everyone's review here, then you're welcome to tell me and I can try to do that.**

**Replies**

**WoodElfJedi: Since I can't PM you, I'll just tell you how amazing you are right here. ^_^ First, sorry for all my cliffys LOL. But without cliffys there's no suspense and stuff ^^ and good news, this chapter doesn't end in a cliffy! Second, thank you so so so so so so much for your constant support! You are absolutely amazingly, generously kind! I hope we can get to know each other better in the future and be friends ^_^. Third, I am so ridiculously happy that you're liking my story so much! I feel honored to have you as a reader! And don't worry, I'll definitely finish this story even if you end up the only one left reading *laughs*. Thank you so much for your lovely words that you give me every. single. time! I feel like I don't deserve your praise ^_^ Honestly, mellon nin, I cannot stress how much your kindness means to me! Thank you, hannon le, 谢谢, arigatou gozaimasu, dolzekh menu, merci, mahalo, gracias, diolch, grazie! ^U^**

**Answers**

**Limbairedhiel asked about the pronunciation of Celeberyn and how we envision Thranduil in this story:  
So I believe Celeberyn is pronounced ke-LEB-eh-rin, if any of you are elvish experts, feel free to correct me! As for Thranduil, I've always envisioned him not as cold/menacing or eerie, and more kind/warm, stubborn yet determined, and very loving. All the good stuff, basically, since I am in love with him 3 ^_^**

**So that's all for reviews and questions...now on to the story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Helluin felt like a squirrel, leaping from tree to tree in a mad dash for the palace. The only thing missing was a large bushy tail, which the warrior thankfully didn't have. He felt like he should hold a few nuts in his hands, but then decided against it. It might hinder his speed.

The sound of growling orcs drew closer and closer, stomping and clashing through the forest, smothering their foul presence all over the place. The sound would scare away any living thing within miles, not to mention the stench. The smell could choke a pile of inanimate trash.

Helluin clenched his teeth and unsheathed a long knife as he continued to run. He skittered underneath branches and treaded on twigs that should have snapped under a human but supported his elven weight effortlessly.

The warrior scanned the trees and saw the orc pack in all its dark glory, smashing through the forest and causing Helluin to almost lose his balance in disgust. He turned back to his run but then something happened that had never happened before.

He stumbled.

Helluin's body was beyond exhaustion and finally gave up, much to his absolute horror. His feet slipped on a branch and he tumbled out of the trees, landing on the ground with a hard thud, unable even to soften his landing. He had been running nonstop for days, and tried to take frequent breaks and rest since he knew that all the running, fighting, and emotional pain would eventually pile up and consume him. Like it did now.

The orcs, which had gotten revoltingly close to Helluin, turned towards the sound of the elf falling from the tree in surprise, then cackled at the sight of him sprawled on the ground. The creatures immediately ran towards him, relishing the thought of destroying another elf.

_Get up, stupid feet!_ Helluin yelled mentally. _Get up! Get up! I cannot die! _The warrior dragged himself up, his legs shaking from exhaustion. _Oh Valar….why…._ Determination flashed in his eyes as he unsheathed his other knife so he yielded one in each hand. _You got this, Helluin. You can defeat them, no problem. _The warrior tried to ignore his trembling hands and instead forced his attention on the orcs.

As the first approached, Helluin spun into battle. He had no shortage of skill when it came to fighting, but he was definitely lacking in experience of fighting while exhausted. Exhaustion was strange, and something the warrior had never really experienced before, at least not to the point of dropping.

But that's exactly what happened.

For as Helluin sliced an orc head off a pair of shoulders, his knees suddenly buckled without warning and he collapsed to the ground. _NO! Get up!_ The warrior panted heavily but he just could not force himself to stand, no matter how hard he tried. _No._ _Please, no. I have to get back to the palace…._

The orcs sneered and brought their swords down on him, but at the last second, Helluin managed to dodge and to his great relief, his feet shakily leapt back up. _Good job. I may keep you after all_, Helluin thought. However, the warrior's steel determination wasn't enough to keep him up for long.

He gracefully danced his waltz of death as his knives flashed dangerously like deadly stars, the orcs no match even for an exhausted Mirkwood soldier. But the warrior knew he finally reached his limit. He stumbled, which proved to be a fatal mistake, as an orc took the split second to stab him deep in the side.

Helluin gasped and killed the creature swiftly, but the damage was done. He staggered, blood soaking through his clothes and streaming to the ground in a dark red puddle. _No. Valar no._ Seeing their chance, the orcs attacked and Helluin's eyes widened in shock as three swords plunged into his back. Blood dripped from his mouth but he forced his body to turn and slice the creatures' throats, who were all conveniently lined up in a row. Helluin paused, gasping and trying to push the agony to the back of his brain. He looked up and forced himself to laugh despite his condition, which made for quite a sight and honestly scared the orcs.

"You dare to cross Mirkwood?" Helluin sneered. "This is your fate. If even an exhausted inexperienced warrior like me can defeat you, then you have no chance of ever taking our kingdom. We don't die so easily, you dogs. Go crawl back into your little caves and hide from the light. For as long as we live, there will never be a place in the world for you." Helluin gathered every last thread of strength in his body and desperately engaged the rest of the orcs, who had all been slightly unnerved.

The orcs stood no chance.

Before long, Helluin was standing alone among a blood soaked ground littered with dead corpses. The air hung thickly with the scent of metallic blood and seemed heavy with silence, pierced only with the harsh panting of Helluin.

He collapsed to the ground and lay there, staring up at the sky with glazed gray eyes. His blood stained lips tilted up into a little smile as he gazed at the clouds moving lazily through the blue sky as if nothing had happened. _I have protected Mirkwood….one last time. _The warrior was fading quickly, but as his mind slowly started losing all thoughts, he was suddenly filled with paralyzing fear as he realized something. _The king and the crown prince! No….I have to get the message to them._

Even though he would rather just lie still and fall asleep, Helluin dragged himself up to a kneeling position and ripped off a piece of his sleeve, spreading it out on the grass. He dipped his finger in a pool of his own blood and started scrawling a message.

But the warrior barely started before his exhaustion and injuries refused to let him live even a second longer. Helluin fell forward as his vision dimmed rapidly, and the elf's world plunged into darkness. He lay still on the grass, his consciousness lingering for a split second, allowing only one thought. _I'm sorry, my king. I'm sorry….please….someone find me…. _And then his soul fled.

* * *

Thoronbel had been expecting a pack of orcs. His sword was itching in its sheath to kill anything that might be a threat to Mirkwood. What he didn't expect was finding Helluin dead on the ground with a whole pile of the creatures collapsed around him and blood soaking into the dirt.

The captain of the king's guard had ordered the Mirkwood army to disperse into the towns and take care of the orc problem that Argeleb had informed them about a few days ago. Most places had now been reported clean of the disgusting creatures, but Thoronbel with his small patrol personally skirted around the kingdom a last time to finish off any lingering orcs.

As for the state of the kingdom, repair was rapidly going on everywhere in Mirkwood, especially at the palace which had gotten destroyed by the dragons. Thoronbel constantly waited for good news of his king's condition, but so far, the answer was always the same – "my lord is still unconscious."

There was one other thing. Prince Legolas' death.

The entire kingdom was launched into deep mourning as if a giant cloud of sorrow made it its mission to settle over the land. Most elves were silent all the time, their movements automatic as they grieved the passing of their beloved little prince.

Thoronbel, cursing himself for not being able to protect Legolas, made it his personal mission to clean Mirkwood of all orcs.

And that's how he came across Helluin's body, facedown on the grass with a large pool of blood surrounding him. Thoronbel immediately dismounted his horse and knelt next to the warrior in alarm, gesturing for the rest of his patrol to keep watch and look for any more orcs nearby. Thoronbel knew that Helluin had been sent to protect prince Legolas, so seeing him fallen, alone, was alarming.

Before the captain even touched Helluin, he knew he was beyond saving. Muttering a curse to all dark creatures , Thoronbel gently turned Helluin on his back and looked into the warrior's dim eyes with sorrow. Helluin's hand was still slightly warm, and Thoronbel screamed at himself for not reaching him in time.

"I'm sorry, brother. We came too late." He whispered.

Thoronbel clenched his fist and slowly lifted his head, looking around at all the dead orcs sprawled on the grass. The captain smiled sadly and glanced back down at Helluin's empty gray eyes. "You did good, though. You did good."

Thoronbel kissed the warrior's forehead and as he was setting him down, he noticed something in the grass. It was a piece of cloth torn from Helluin's sleeve, but what drew Thoronbel's attention was the writing on it in blood. He picked it up, eyes widening at the figures. Three words were hastily scrawled in red, followed by a streak as if the writer had fallen before he finished his thought: "My lord Legolas –"

Thoronbel stared at the unfinished message, his mind reeling. He quickly ordered his patrol to skirt the area and try to locate anyone else, especially prince Legolas. "What does this mean?"Thoronbel whispered to himself. "Why would Helluin be alone? Where is everyone else?" A horrible thought pierced his mind and the captain's mouth dropped open in terror, "Could it be, that they all…no….no it can't be. He was trying to write something about my prince Legolas. What could he have said? What could he have said about my lord…" Thoronbel racked his brain desperately to come up with a positive explanation, but everything he could come up with was worse then the last.

"Captain?" one of the warrior laid a hand on Thoronbel's shoulder, causing him to look up and meet concerned blue eyes.

"Have you found anything?" Thoronbel inquired hopefully.

The warrior shook his head sadly. "No. There is nothing else around this area."

"Where is this hunting house that Argeleb told us they were at?" Thoronbel muttered. "We've searched every single one…." He sighed and stood up with Helluin in his arms. "Let's return to the palace for now. You all need to rest."

After they disposed of the orc bodies, Thoronbel mounted his horse with Helluin's body and the patrol galloped back towards the halls of king Thranduil.

* * *

**A few days later**

Legolas giggled and stuffed some food in his cheeks as he ran back out of the hunting house with Aredhel on his heels pretending to chase him, waving his arms and calling dramatically. The elfling had recently devised some sort of game involving him trying to eat and Aredhel trying to stop him. Aredhel played along willingly since it seemed to make Legolas really happy, even though he was always taught not to run while eating. But that seemed like an irrelevant detail now.

The little prince scampered across the green grass and squealed as Sirion laughed and waited outside to "catch" him. Legolas managed to dodge all the warriors and dove back into the hunting house, plunging under the blankets on the small bed and essentially winning the game.

"Yay!" The elfling cheered. "I won again!" He giggled as Aredhel entered the room and crossed his arms in a mock pout.

"My lord, you are just too fast for me!" the warrior smiled. "You win every time!"

Legolas' grin was like the sun, splashing joy all over the place. Over the last few days the little prince's energy and bounce seemed to return, as he was convinced that Mirkwood was alright and his father was a great hero protecting everyone and would come get him very soon.

Every morning and night Legolas crouched by the front door of the hunting house, waiting for Thranduil. With Aredhel's help, the elfling had constructed a large flag made of green leaves that they attached to a long branch and stuck in front of the house. Legolas explained that he was afraid Thranduil might not be able to find them, but with the flag, his father would definitely come right away.

Legolas bounced on the bed a little, his smile fading as he jumped up and headed back outside. He plopped himself down in the grass with the tall flag in the ground next to him, and leaned his chin in his hand as he stared out into the forest.

Aredhel followed the elfling and stood a short distance away, watching him sadly. The little prince forgot a lot of things, and was often not very precise, but there was one thing he would never miss – the two slots of time that were dedicated everyday for the elfling to sit in front of the house and wait for his father. Legolas never ever forgot it.

"Ada…" Legolas complained. "I already made a flag, you must have seen it by now! It reaches super duper high! You should be able to see it from the palace! When are you going to come, Ada? Hurry…..Aredhel's okay, but I want you! Don't be mad at me, I promise the one time that I poured glue on your throne was an accident! Hurry, Ada….I don't want to be alone," he whimpered.

As Aredhel listened, the elfling then started forming a schedule of exactly what they would do when he returned home, counting the ideas on his little fingers. "So first, Ada, I'm going to eat a whole bunch! I miss the food at the palace. I know the warriors hunt and stuff and try to make good food, but you're not here so the food all tastes weird. Then me, you, an' Cel are gonna go to the forest and have a picnic! You can cook the food and we'll help you to make sure you don't mess up. Then we're gonna play 'Protect Mirkwood'. An' then…we'll play 'Catch the leaf' and 'What cloud is that?'. Then we can go fishing! An' then we can play in the river. Then when it's super duper late at night we can watch the stars. An' then go back home and play some more. No bath though! Then you can tell me five stories, and make sure you act them out like you usually do!"

Legolas giggled and nodded. "Yeah! And make sure you finish your work early so we can play all day! Oh and also, you have to sleep with me so I don't get nightmares, okay?"

The elfling sighed and stared into the distance. "Come on, Ada…" he begged. "Please…hurry."

Aredhel turned and headed back into the small hunting house, not trusting himself to listen anymore without bawling. This happened twice everyday, with Legolas talking to his father sometimes about his day or a funny story, and sometimes planning what they'd do once he returned to the palace.

The warrior sat down on the bed and placed his head in his hands. Two of the warriors that was with Aredhel - Aphadon and Gurthang, had gone hunting, while Sirion sat at the tiny table in the kitchen eating. The elves had been in the hunting house for a week, with no news on the state of the kingdom.

Aredhel had sent Helluin back to the palace a few days ago, and if he had reached safely, he should be back here by now. Aredhel feared the worst, but forced himself to grasp onto a little flame of hope that perhaps Helluin was on his way, and brought good news with him. He refused to let any of the remaining warriors leave, for protecting Legolas was still the top priority and he didn't know if they'd be attacked again.

There were times when Aredhel wanted to just curl up and cry for his king, for he had no idea what his current condition was. The hunting house they were occupying was extremely isolated and difficult to find. He doubted that anyone would stumble upon it on accident, which was extremely unfortunate. They had no way of receiving news or updates on the state of Mirkwood.

Aredhel lifted his head and looked through the open door at Legolas sitting in the grass, speaking to his father as if king Thranduil was right in front of him. He clenched a fistful of bedsheet in his hand as his heart constricted in pain.

Legolas stared at the trees, on the verge of tears. "Please, Ada," he begged. "Please….I know bad things are happening, but come get me! I can make you feel better! And be careful….I know something bad happened to you, because you always tell me to be careful with fire, but then I saw…." Legolas shook his head vigorously, trying to push away the images in his mind. "Ada, you won't forget, right? Please….come soon! Hurry, please! Ada…..I want to see you…."

* * *

Thoronbel was forced to take charge of the kingdom, with the help of Galion. Their king was still unconscious, his life teetering on the verge of death. The healers tried everything in their power to heal him, but it was the king's heart that worried them. It was broken beyond repair.

So Thoronbel agreed to take care of matters concerning the kingdom for now, even though he hated it and desperately wished that Thranduil would be alright. He disliked how taking control of Mirkwood seemed to indicate that the king was gone.

The crown prince?

Celeberyn constantly sat by his father's bed, refusing to leave. He was locked deep in his own world of grief and pain, and no one, not even Elfaron, could pull him out. His state of mind was so weak it couldn't be trusted.

The entire kingdom was affected by the breaking of the royal family. Mirkwood was deeply mourning prince Legolas, but the mood was even worse towards their king. The forest seemed to be holding its breath as a cold darkness swept through the streets and halls of king Thranduil, plunging everyone into a grievous mood. The suspense was killing as everyone prayed for good news on Thranduil's condition.

An extreme hatred for dragons and orcs developed in the kingdom in the blink of an eye, reaching deeper then the ocean and higher then the stars. Hatred that was even more intense then before. Hatred so much that Middle Earth couldn't contain it all. If Mirkwood was considered dangerous before, it was now nearly unapproachable. The elves grew extremely distrustful of strangers and any creatures besides themselves.

Warriors trained day and night, refusing rest, honing their skills sharp as the quickest blade. New warriors were added to the army daily, and others emerged as ridiculously skilled fighters, accuracy and speed so fast that it was deemed amazement even for elves.

Tacticians pored over old battle formations and strategies, determined that in the next war, Mirkwood would be crowned victorious in no time. The healers spent all free moments studying more medicines then they'd ever seen before, promising that Thranduil would recover and that in the future healing wouldn't be a problem.

Border patrols were doubled, even tripled, ensuring that nothing crossed into Mirkwood without consent. A massive amount of repair was going on around all over the kingdom, among the trees, in the villages, and in the palace, as architects discussed how to build stronger structures.

Within every elf's eyes were looks of fierce determination and loyalty that was unmatchable. The kingdom would never be attacked this way again, and their king would never be injured so again.

In merely several short days, Mirkwood had become deadlier then an army of dragons.

At the center of the treacherous kingdom laid one elvenking Thranduil, who was so beloved that everything was done in order to protect and honor him.

* * *

Celeberyn had been sitting by his father's side for days, unmoving. He knew that Thoronbel and Galion would take care of the kingdom, and to be honest, he didn't trust himself to make the right decisions with his current state of mind. So he just pushed those matters to the back of his mind and instead focused his attention to Thranduil.

It was one of only two things he _could_ focus on. His father and his brother.

Celeberyn still held onto a tiny spark of hope that Legolas could still be alive. The warriors couldn't find a body, so the crown prince allowed himself that much assurance. The hope was quickly fading though, with the discovery of Helluin's body a few days ago.

He was alone in the forest surrounded by a pile of dead orcs, but what tore at Celeberyn was the message the warrior had written in blood. Only three words – _My lord Legolas_.

There were a hundred scenarios that could have prompted Helluin to start that message, but none fanned the hope that Legolas was still alive.

Not only was Legolas most likely gone, but Thranduil had been unresponsive ever since. He was lying on a bed in the healing rooms with the entire left side of his body heavily bandaged and soothed with medicines that the healers had mixed.

Celeberyn insisted he change his father's bandages himself, and always cringed at the sight of the terrible burns. He heard the healers say that the scars would most likely linger forever, something that seared pain into the crown prince's heart. He couldn't imagine his father scarred like this, for the rest of his life.

Powerless to heal Thranduil, Celeberyn resorted to constantly speaking to his father to try to reach him and bring him back to the light. Everyday he talked about memories, made plans for what they would do once Thranduil recovered, discussed proposals made by other kingdoms, and updated him on repairs around the palace. Rarely could he do this without breaking down.

And so, without knowing it, the two brothers of Mirkwood, Celeberyn and Legolas, experienced the same emotions and spoke the same words every day, on opposite sides of the kingdom. They cried for each other and for Thranduil - their king, Ada, and best friend whom they could not imagine a single day without.

One word rang out repeatedly every day that reached among the stars, a word that carried so much emotion it was powerful enough to break through darkness. A word that started at either end of Mirkwood and was directed toward the same destination - the heart of Thranduil. A word so full of pain that even the stars wept.

_Ada._

* * *

**WoodElfJedi - no cliffy this time, right? ^_^ **

**Thank you all so much for reading! I'll try to update soon!**

**Also, if any of you have ideas or suggestions for plot twists, you are totally welcome to tell me! bettsam0731 has generously given me a plot twist idea that you all will see in later chapters ^_^**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, follows, and favs this story! I am honored and encouraged by your support! **

**Thank you and hopefully we'll see the next chapter soon!**


	7. I'm coming home

**Thank you all so much for sticking with me! **

**Next week is spring break for my school so hopefully I'll be able to upload two or three chapters then. ^_^**

**I can't believe it's chapter 7 already, guys... **

**I just realized how many OC's I have, and it's ALOT。Sorry about how many OC's I have... T.T **

**Replies**

**Guest: Thank you so much for leaving a review! I feel really bad for Legolas too T.T hopefully things will get better soon!**

**Me: Thank you so much! No need to apologize! I can't wait for the reunion either! I think it's going to be pretty soon. I'm so glad you're liking my story! It's always exciting when people get really engaged with it, especially since I just relialized how many OC's I have, and OC's are often hard to like. Anyways, Thank you so much!**

**WoodElfJedi: Thank you so much for leaving a review, again! You're the best! I'm so glad you liked that last chapter...I hope you'll like this one too! Thank you so much for your repeated encouragement and kind words! I honestly cannot express how much it all means to me! 3 LOL sorry for all the cliffys...Thank you once again! ^O^ **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Celeberyn felt like an utter failure. He was sitting on Thranduil's bed in the healing rooms, staring into space completely unresponsive. He had been doing this ever since the war ended. The crown prince didn't move, didn't eat, and didn't speak to anyone save his father. Mirkwood tried desperately to save her prince, but she knew that as long as Thranduil stayed unconscious and Legolas was gone, nothing could help Celeberyn.

Celeberyn traced his fingers over the papers he held in his hand, staring down at the crayon drawings Legolas had created depicting the cake he and Thranduil had made for him. _To think that that day was originally supposed to be a celebration! Oh Legolas…..Please, you must still be alive…please… _he stared painfully at the drawings, knowing that Legolas' little hands had drawn them.

"I swore I would protect you, little brother." Celeberyn choked. "Unto my last day. And here I am alive, while you are…I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't…"

The pain in his heart was crippling and indescribable, and the only thing that prevented him from fading was his father.

The crown prince looked down at Thranduil, the left side of his face bandaged heavily with strips of white cloth and pungent smelling herbs. Some strands of the king's silky golden hair had also been singed off, leaving uneven ends cascading over his shoulders – one bandaged, both bare. "Is this you and Legolas' idea of a birthday present, Ada?" Celeberyn laughed bitterly. "Because I hate it. And I demand to return it immediately."

A light knock sounded at the door of the healing room, and an elleth pushed through slowly, balancing a tray in her hands which held a small bowl of liquid. "M-my lord," she whispered, "I'm sorry for disturbing, but I have my king's medicine…..h-how is he?"

"The same as yesterday," was Celeberyn's hoarse response, as he set Legolas' drawings in his lap and took the bowl from her tray. "Hannon le…?"

"Elanor," the elleth supplied.

"Hannon le, Elanor."

"D-don't thank me, my prince. What do the healers say about my king's condition?" Elanor inquired, sorrow and pain streaking in her eyes.

Celeberyn opened his mouth, but no sound came out as he was paralyzed with grief, his hands shaking so much that he nearly spilled the medicine.

Elanor immediately started apologizing in horror. "I'm sorry, my lord. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I should not have asked. Please excuse me." The elleth knew that everyone was warned to speak carefully around the crown prince, particularly on any topics concerning Thranduil or Legolas, for they knew that it would only cause him more pain.

She turned hastily and hurried to the door, but as her fingers landed on the handle, Celeberyn's hollow voice spoke up. "They say his heart is broken beyond repair."

Elanor slapped a hand over her mouth as a sob escaped her lips, her blue eyes widening in horror as her tray clattered to the ground, unnoticed. She hesitated in front of the door for a moment, trying hard not to cry in the presence of Celeberyn. The elleth shakily exited the room then dashed down the halls, tears streaking down her face like silvery rain.

Celeberyn turned back to Thranduil with the medicine in his hands. His tears had been wept dry, so now he proceeded through life as an empty shell. The prince crawled carefully onto the bed and gently propped Thranduil up against his chest so the two of them were sitting up. His father's slack weight against his body would have caused wave after wave of tears to stream down Celeberyn's face, if they hadn't already gone dry.

The healers had decided that Thranduil would be able to take medicine by mouth, so every day a different servant brought it in, all desperate to see their king and ask about his condition.

Celeberyn tilted Thranduil's head up and brought the small bowl to his lips, slowly pouring in small amounts of the medicine. "Ada," he whispered painfully. "Wake up. Please…..it's been nearly a month. Wake up….."

As the last drop of liquid slid down the king's throat, he suddenly stirred slightly. Celeberyn froze, paralyzed with fear and hope. When nothing else happened, the crown prince was immediately crushed with despair and pain. "Valar! Why must you always give me such false hope?!" he cried. A sob escaped his lips as he rested his cheek on Thranduil's shoulder and tried not to shatter into a million pieces.

"Cel?"

Celeberyn shattered.

He had never heard anything more beautiful then that single, hoarse syllable that was barely audible. His body froze in shock as he slowly lifted his head and saw Thranduil's right eye gazing back at him.

The crown prince's mouth dropped open as if it was on hinges and he was about to stuff his face with food. He literally threw the medicine bowl to the ground, wanting to scream and laugh and cry. "Ada! Ada!" he spoke the word desperately as if it could prevent Thranduil from ever leaving again.

Thranduil stared emptily at his son and after a moment he managed to form one word. "Legolas."

Time immediately froze as frost began to spread over Celeberyn's heart. _Legolas. Little brother. Ada's going to be okay. You have to be alive. You have to. Please. _Even as those thoughts ran through the crown prince's mind, he knew they weren't true. _Legolas…Legolas…._an involuntary sob shook Celeberyn's frame as he slid off the bed and Thranduil propped himself up weakly to look at him with horror.

"Legolas." The king repeated, desperate to see his little son. He reached his left hand towards Celeberyn then suddenly froze, eyeing his bandaged arm with confusion. He reached up and touched the left side of his face, fingers coming in contact with the cloth covering it. Thranduil pulled his hand away in horror, remember what had happened. "Legolas!"

Celeberyn knelt by his father's bed, staring up into his grief-stricken face. _I can't tell Ada the truth. I can't! He can't hold on much longer! _Thranduil cupped Celeberyn's cheek in one hand, meeting his blue-green eyes. "Cel." He spoke the name as if he were trying to convince himself that this was real. "Where is Legolas." His voice was weak and hoarse but carried heavy with desperation and pain.

Celeberyn opened his mouth as Thranduil repeated. "I need to see him!"

"A-a-ada, L-L-Legolas is fine. He's just sleeping in his room, but he-he's okay. " The crown prince whispered, trying hard not to explode in grief.

"Promise?" Thranduil's voice started to slur, but his heart strengthened with hope.

"Promise."

One month. Aredhel watched as Legolas devoured his breakfast hungrily, smearing food all over his cheeks and the table. An entire month. The elfling looked up at the warrior and grinned with food stuck all between his teeth.

"'Red! Aren't you going to eat?"

Aredhel smiled sadly as he brushed off the food from Legolas' cheek. "You don't need to act brave in front of me, my lord. It's okay."

Legolas smile immediately faded as his walls fell away and he burst into tears. "When is Ada going to come?" he cried. "I want to see him! Did he forget about me?"

"Of course not!" Aredhel replied, crouching next to his prince and wiping his tears away. "King Thranduil would never forget! He is simply protecting the kingdom, remember? Because he is a great hero."

"But-but-" Legolas whimpered, his cheeks still full of food as his nose ran and he wiped it on his sleeve. He remembered when his brother would wipe his nose for him and started crying even harder. He cried every night and frequently had bad dreams, desperately wishing for his father. He had never been away from Thranduil until now, and he hated it. The elfling vowed to never ever leave his father when he grew up.

"Shhhhh it'll be okay my lord," Aredhel whispered. _Fool! _He screamed at himself. _How can you tell him it's okay? It's been a month, with no news or any information on the royal family! _You_ are barely holding onto sanity! My prince is so broken that he tries to act brave in front of us!_

Sirion and Aphadon were also seated at the tiny table, and immediately started trying to cheer Legolas up, telling funny stories while making dramatic faces and hand gestures. After a while the elfling giggled as Aredhel sat back in relief.

"And then his tummy was _this_ big after eating all that at the feast!" Aphadon said, using his hands as a measurement. "Isn't that big?"

"Yeah!" Legolas laughed, swinging his feet. "That's funny!"

Aredhel smiled, feeling warmth rush into his body after seeing the little prince so happy. These days they all desperately needed some cheering up. Helluin still hadn't returned, and Aredhel knew in his gut what must have happened. They all mourned for their fellow warrior, brother, and friend, but what was even worse was the fact that the royal family might not even know that Legolas was still alive.

Aredhel didn't dare to send another one of them back to the palace, for fear of encountering orcs again and being unable to protect Legolas. They had, in fact, been attacked two more times in the past couple weeks. Both fights they had eventually emerged victorious, but what worried Aredhel was the fact that Legolas had seen someone get killed.

Gurthang, who had received numerous injuries, succumbed to death during the last fight while protecting his prince. The little elfling saw a glimpse of the warrior's lifeless face before Aredhel frantically pulled him away with Legolas screaming in fear and horror. The warrior was terrified on how the image will scar his little prince.

Aredhel looked at Legolas' grinning face and couldn't help but smile. "'Red! 'Red! Isn't that funny?" The elfling giggled, indicating the story Aphadon had just finished telling.

The warrior smiled at his prince. "Yes, my lord. Very funny! Now would you like me to tell you something?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Elfaron, Thoronbel, and their small patrol skirted through the forest on horseback, strictly checking their borders for suspicious behavior like random orc packs stupid enough to mill around in Mirkwood. The cool morning air swirled around comfortably and pale sunlight splashed through the leaves overhead, forming patterns on the forest floor. Birds could once again be heard tweeting among the trees, and small creatures skittered along the dirt, once again feeling the peace after the forest had been restored to its former beauty.

Elfaron had been constantly participating in patrols every chance he could, to try and push aside the pain in his heart by doing something useful. He couldn't bear to think of all the tragedy that had befallen the kingdom, and the fact that he wasn't able to help in any way.

The young warrior glanced over at his captain as a thought occurred in his mind. "Thoronbel, where did you find Helluin? Can you take me there?" the words spilled out of his mouth but he had no idea where they came from.

Thoronbel tilted his head in confusion but nodded and steered his steed along with the patrol following closely. "It's not far from here," Thoronbel explained.

The elves arrived at the site that had been cleaned up so well that nothing revealed the tragic event that had happened there besides Thoronbel's memory that recorded it. Elfaron dismounted and stood still for a moment, unsure what to do or why he even wanted to come here. But he knew that they were missing something important here that had to do with Legolas.

Elfaron turned to his captain who was also standing in the grass. "There's nothing else around this area?"

Thoronbel shook his head. "We checked."

Something was off.

Elfaron stared into the forest for a moment, thinking. _Helluin was found right here. He was still slightly warm, so the orc fight must have started only around thirty minutes earlier, according to the size of the pack. The healers said that from what they could see of his condition, he had been running at top speed for a day, probably taking frequent breaks. At that rate….._Elfaron's mind zoomed in on a map of Mirkwood as his eyes swept the forest, drawing lines and calculating at a rapid speed. Numbers flashed in front of him as he mentally measured distances and estimated speed.

Elfaron finished, his mind zeroing in on the point where Helluin must have started his run, which was where prince Legolas must be. But there was nothing there. Elfaron knew Mirkwood well, and he knew that area of the forest held nothing but trees since it was so close to the border. _No. There must be something I'm missing. _

The young warrior started at the ground, then turned to Thoronbel. "Captain, towards which direction was Helluin lying?"

Thoronbel quickly showed Elfaron, then stepped back to watch him. The captain of the guard had heard of the warrior's intelligence, but he'd never seen him at work. It was amazing, really.

_Yes! If Helluin was lying in that direction, that means he started in this position…then according to the number of orcs and the Mirkwood fighting style, he would have actually started over here. _Elfaron's mind traced over every move Helluin must have made as he fought in order to kill all the orcs, keeping in mind where he was injured and how bad. When he figured out where exactly Helluin had stopped running and instead started fighting, he then proceeded to once again calculate the distance from here to his original start point.

Elfaron mentally zoomed in on the area and swept around in it, trying to figure out what occupied that particular spot of Mirkwood. _There must be a hunting house there…_the warrior thought hard, but he couldn't remember anything being there. _No, there's something there, I know it…_Elfaron's eyes suddenly widened and he leapt back up his horse excitedly.

"I know where they are! Come on!" the patrol immediately mounted their steeds and sped after him, not bothering to question the elf. Thoronbel looked over at Elfaron, impressed. Before he could ask, Elfaron explained, "Prince Celeberyn and I used to go hunting together, and we built a few hunting houses. One was specifically dedicated to the two of us, and only a few other elves knew of its location. I'm positive that's where they are, and that's why no one was able to find them before."

Even though they knew prince Legolas was gone, they needed to find his body and the other warriors that were sent to protect him. No one knew what had happened to them, whether they were dead or alive. It was worrying, to say the least.

Elfaron urged his steed faster, desperate to find the missing elves. The forest streaked by in a blur like the stroke of an artist's brush, finished with strong breaths of wind that slapped the warrior's face. He led the way easily, following his mental map which was ridiculously accurate.

The patrol approached the edge of Mirkwood's border and hit an area where the trees grew closer together and thick vegetation choked the earth. The air hung heavy with silence, but as they drew closer to a particularly dense area, the warriors' ears picked up the sound of laughter.

Elfaron's heart surged in excitement and confusion as he saw a large flag made of leaves looming through the brush and the sound of an elfling's voice ringing through the air like tinkling bells. He dared not let himself hope, for fear that it would be false.

The warriors rode through the vegetation, and came to a stop in front of a tiny little hunting house. What they saw caused every single one of them to gasp in shock.

Aredhel wanted to jump and scream with joy, though that wouldn't be very dignified. _Oh Valar, hannon le! Hannon le…._

He had heard the sound of horses and literally leapt out of his chair, sprinting outside like an overexcited elfling. Legolas had giggled and followed, thinking it was some kind of game. Sirion and Aphadon also hurried outside, the four of them anxiously watching the forest for the approaching elves.

When Aredhel saw the first elves break through the undergrowth, tears sprang to his eyes no matter how stubbornly he pushed them away. He was _so _happy they were found. His jumbled emotions of relief and joy were indescribable as a ridiculous grin plastered itself on his face and refused to go away.

Thoronbel and Elfaron dismounted a few feet away, their faces expressions of pure disbelief. Legolas squealed and ran towards Elfaron.

"El!" The elfling squealed. "Is Ada here too? You all are finally here!"

Elfaron stood speechless in paralyzed shock, unable to believe his eyes. He looked frantically at Aredhel, Sirion, and Aphadon, as if he were afraid there was some sort of strange magic at work.

Aredhel tilted his head in confusion and turned to Thoronbel. "Mae govannen, captain. Why do you look so surprised? What is it?"

Thoronbel stared at Legolas with huge eyes. "M-m-my lord Legolas…..he's alive!"

A cold feeling spread through Aredhel's heart like freezing frost. "Aye…..don't tell me….Helluin didn't reach the palace?"

Thoronbel shook his head sadly. "We found him dead in the forest surrounded by orcs. He had started writing a message, but only got out three words – 'my lord Legolas'."

Aredhel's mouth dropped open in horror. "You mean king Thranduil and prince Celeberyn do not know?!"

"No. none of us knew my lord Legolas was still alive! But I cannot express how happy I am to see him…." Thoronbel grinned and crouched down as Legolas giggled and gave him a hug.

"Thoronbel! Where is Ada? Is he coming soon? Can I go home now?" the elfling asked.

The captain's face immediately grew dark as he looked up at the three warriors, causing Aredhel's heart to instantly go cold with fear.

"My king has regained consciousness a few days ago, but is even worse now that my lord Legolas' death has sunk in. My prince Celeberyn is not faring any better." Thoronbel's hollow voice and piercing gaze paralyzed the warriors. "You must return immediately."

"Gwaem!" Aredhel immediately motioned for Sirion and Aphadon to gather what little supplies they had remaining, while he crouched down by Legolas whose face was covered with confusion.

"'Red, what's going on? Where is Ada?" The elfling whimpered.

Aredhel hesitated, unsure on how to reply. "Well, my prince…king Thranduil and prince Celeberyn are unable to come themselves, but that doesn't mean they forgot about you! We're going to take you back home, and it'll…be like a surprise."

A grin spread on Legolas' little face. "Really? Yay! Come on! Come on!" The elfling giggled and tugged on Aredhel's hand, who tried his best to smile back.

"Elfaron, could Aredhel and prince Legolas use your steed? You can ride with me. Two of you will also have to double up. I'm sorry, but we must return to the palace as soon as possible," Thoronbel instructed.

Elfaron dismounted and Aredhel helped little Legolas sit up on the horse before leaping up behind him. Just as the last warrior mounted, they immediately sped back the way they came, desperate to reach the palace. Legolas cheered the whole time, completely oblivious to the fact that he did not know what condition his father would be in once they returned, or even if he would still be alive to see his son.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffy, guys. **

**Are you excited for the reunion? I am! ^_^ I promise it'll be in the next chapter! I don't want Thranduil and Cel to miss Legolas' childhood, so they're going to reunite very soon! **

**Thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter and thank you so much for sticking with me! **

**If you have any suggestions/ideas/tips feel free to tell me ^_^ **

**Happy early Easter everyone!**


	8. Forever an' ever

**Sooo I have this chapter up sooner then I expected, which makes me feel super accomplished ^_^**

**This chapter was really fun to write and I'm sure you all are looking forward to it...next week we're off from school so I'm gonna try and knock out more chapters for you guys.**

**Unfortunately I've caught some sort of bug that I'm pretty sure one of my teachers spread to me, so now I feel like oliphaunt poop that's been trampled by an army of orcs. T_T**

**Anywho...moving on! **

**WoodElfJedi: hmm...I'm trying to pull up some guilt over that cliffy, but I'm not finding anything... ^_^ *laughs* I haven't taken classes on writing with emotion before, but what I do is shove my heart in my story somewhere, so any awkward parts are cuz that's my real heart. I also put like real-life moments in there...(I also blame my plot bunnnies though. My plot bunny closet is getting awfully full and feel free to tell me if you want any. I have waaay too many) Thank you so much for all your amazing praise! And I think the reason you feel dread is because...well, you''ll see**

**Guest: Thanks so much! Three "loves" in one sentence...^_^ I'm so glad you're liking this!**

**thorininthedark: haha, well, that would be interesting. What are the elves putting in their cakes that allows them to be preserved for an entire month? whatever it is, I want it and then my life will be complete ^U^ Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like my ridiculous story that's actually getting kind of carried away...this was originally supposed to be a ONESHOT! *laughs* can you believe it? my plot bunnies went crazy...**

**Me: Thank you so much! Legolas is cute, isn't he...just perfect ^_^ *laughs* I hope Thranduil's awake too... and Cel's reaction sure won't be disappointing! Thank you for posting such lovely reviews every time! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Okay guys! It's the chapter you've been waiting for! **

* * *

**Note: First, Let me tell you a little about this chapter. ...Bittersweet is really the only word I can use to describe it. Don't worry, I promise the happiness will be in the next chapter as I continue the "reunion experience"!  
****Second, I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter! It is very long, I'm warning you. So, to enhance your reading experience...**

**1\. Get in a comfortable position. This is crucial.**

**2\. Make sure you have a good slot of time.**

**3\. Curl up with a cup of tea.**

**4\. Put on some emotional Celtic music in the background (I recommend Brunuhville)**

**5\. Have a box of tissues handy, just in case.**

**6\. Enjoy!**

* * *

Legolas had never ridden a horse before in his life, so maybe sitting on one that was galloping at top speed wouldn't have been the safest thing to do. The elfling wasn't scared, though. In fact he thought it was super fun!

Aredhel had his arms wrapped tightly around the little prince so he had no chance of falling off. The forest whipped by in a blur and the wind clawed at Legolas' face, making it feel like he was getting smashed with a pine tree. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation.

Nevertheless, the elfling was excited. Super excited. Very soon he'd be able to see his father and brother once more, and they'd play all day long, never to be separated again.

Legolas held on tight to the horse's mane, feeling her strong body underneath him moving through the forest, taking them closer and closer to home. The elfling could hardly contain his excitement. In fact, if they hadn't been running at such a speed that he could barely open his mouth, Legolas would be screaming and waving his arms in excitement right about now.

Elfaron glanced over at his little prince, grinning like a madman. He couldn't help it. _Prince Legolas is alive! Thank the Valar! I knew they wouldn't be unjust…..this will definitely heal my king and Celeberyn. _The warrior just hoped that they weren't too late.

Thranduil had finally woken up a few days ago, and Celeberyn managed to convince him that Legolas was alive even though they still thought he was dead. The king was strengthened with hope for a while, until he kept asking to see his son and was refused over and over again. Thranduil eventually realized that Legolas was pronounced as dead, and now all that was holding him to life was Celeberyn and Galion's desperate attempts to keep him from fading.

As for his burns…..

The king's exposure to the fire had severely damaged his brain cells, leading to cerebral hypoxia*. This meant that he couldn't move very well, speak, or think straight. The healers said it was a miracle Thranduil even survived this far. The only reason he was able to speak those few words when he first awoke was due to sheer will.

The good news? He was indeed improving, even though it was slow as a slug with arthritis. However, there was no assurance that Thranduil would completely recover.

Another painful fact included how his burns would probably scar his body for the rest of eternity. The healers were horrified to deliver such news and they all desperately wished that they could do something to help. But even their elven bodies aren't enough to overcome such extreme injuries without paying a price. The most painful part was the left side of Thranduil's face and his blind left eye. As an elf and a warrior, keen eyesight is one of the most important senses and one cannot imagine life with it hindered. The fact that Thranduil has to go through the rest of eternity without his left eye and with terrible scars all over his body was unbearable to think about.

Elfaron hoped that by bringing Legolas back to the palace, Thranduil will rediscover the will to live.

Legolas was relieved when he finally saw the palace looming in the distance like a precious jewel. The elfling half expected that he would be just as big as his father now, since the journey seemed to take so long. _Ada! Ada! I'm coming!_

* * *

"My prince….please, you must eat."

Celeberyn looked up and was met with the pained eyes of Nenuial, the royal cook. She glanced back at him with almost a motherly glare, holding up her tray stacked carefully with a few dishes. He was still sitting by his father, refusing to move.

Thranduil was propped up in the bed with a mountain of pillows and blankets, barely responsive. At the moment he was sleeping, but the difference between sleep and wake weren't that different in appearance for him. The healers couldn't do much about his brain injury, but anything involving the burns was well treated.

Celeberyn sighed and gestured towards a table. "Hannon le. Just set it over there."

If it were any other servant, they would have followed his orders obediently and quickly left the room. However, this is Nenuial. She stood there, glaring at the prince and tapping her foot, her chocolaty brown hair tied back to prevent strands from entering her cooking. She tossed away all formalities, something that she could do since she'd always been pretty close to the royal family, acting almost like a mother to the two princes. "Celeberyn, you need to eat, and I don't care what you say. You're not going to help the king if you just abuse your own body."

Celeberyn looked up at Nenuial, and seeing that he couldn't win this one, held his hands out reluctantly as she triumphantly plopped the tray in his arms. "Hannon le." The crown prince sat there for a moment, unmoving, as the elleth stood with hands on her hips, blinking at him.

"You need to eat."

"Yes." Pause. "Do you mean….."

"Indeed, I will stand here and watch you to make sure you are actually eating. You'd better finish at least half of that."

After a long pause, Celeberyn finally nodded. "Alright. But we have to play 'Mirkwood versus orcs' with the food." It was something Legolas frequently played at the dinner table, and the crown prince ached terribly for his little brother. He had no idea how he would ever survive without him.

Nenuial's heart immediately broke and she pulled a chair up to sit next to her prince, vowing that she would play so well that Celeberyn could forget all his pain for a while. A childish smile appeared on Celeberyn's face as he set the tray on his legs and started rolling the food into little balls. Nenuial helped, and pretty soon they had entire armies sitting on two plates.

"Legolas, the mightiest warrior in all of Mirkwood, attacks at the frontlines and defeats the biggest orc!" Celeberyn picked up a little food ball and launched it at Nenuial's "army", reciting the words that his little brother always said. "He kills it and the army is inspired by his bravery!"

Celeberyn played with his food like an elfling, purposefully trying to make a mess so it'd feel like Legolas was really with him. Nenuial responded eagerly and dramatically, throwing her food balls at his army and occasionally sneaking one at his face.

Nenuial kept her word, though. After they had played for a while, she paused and forced Celeberyn to eat some of the food balls as long as they weren't too beat up. She threw some in his mouth and they made up a game complete with points and a scoring system.

For the first time in an entire month, Celeberyn laughed.

He pretended that it was Legolas with him, and his father was sitting at the table next to them, grinning and shaking his head despite his sons' pleas to join in on the fun. He imagined that everything was just the way it should be and nothing in the past month had ever happened. Thranduil was full of energy and joy, and Legolas was still here.

After a while, a knock sounded at the door. Nenuial immediately jumped up, brushing off her clothes and flashing Celeberyn a grin. "Oops. Lost track of time. Someone probably needs you now. Take care, Cel! Oh here, let me take the dishes." She quickly gathered up the now empty plates, purposefully leaving the food mess because she knew it reminded the prince of his little brother.

Celeberyn expressed his thanks as she smiled and pushed out of the room while another elf entered, bowing to his prince. It was Galion.

"My lord Celeberyn. We require your presence to discuss a very important matter."

Celeberyn looked down at his father, taking in his closed eye, pale face, and the bandages wrapped around his body, feeling his heart once again shatter with pain.

He took Thranduil's hand and kissed his fingers. "I'm sorry, Ada. I have to go for a little while, but I'll be back before you know it!" he whispered. Even though the king couldn't respond very well even while awake, the healers urged Celeberyn to keep talking to him, because Thranduil could understand and it would help the healing process.

Celeberyn had managed to regain some of his sanity in the past few days and his mental state stabilized a little, making it possible for him to start taking over some responsibilities of the kingdom. He was determined that Thranduil would eventually recover completely, and he was just taking care of things for now.

Galion cast a sorrowful glance at Thranduil before leading his prince out of the room and down the halls to the council chamber. Celeberyn trudged along, already wishing that he was back with his father.

* * *

Aredhel slid off his horse and carefully helped Legolas down as well, who was nearly exploding from excitement. The elves in the courtyard all gaped at the sight of their prince, alive and well.

Thoronbel dismounted and quickly grabbed one of the guards nearby. "Mellon nin, how is my king and prince?" He was desperate to know about Thranduil, hoping that some good news had arisen in the time he was gone.

Aredhel immediately tuned in next to Thoronbel, for he was also aching to hear some good news. A month isolated from the kingdom did nothing good for his emotion or worry for the royal family. However, the guard merely stood paralyzed, staring at Legolas with mouth wide open as if he were at a party about to devour a delicious feast.

Legolas giggled, thinking it was some sort of game. "How do you play? How do you play?"

The warrior finally found his voice and stammered, "M-m-my lord Legolas! You're…..you're…" a slow smile spread on his face and exploded into a full-out grin. "Thank the Valar! You're alright! This will heal my king for sure! Oh my prince, I have never been so happy to see you in my life!"

Legolas cocked his head, confusion filling his bright blue eyes. "Heal…Ada? Where is he? Can I see him now? Why isn't he here?"

The guard's mood immediately darkened and he beckoned Thoronbel and Aredhel to speak in private. Sirion and Aphadon quickly distracted Legolas and pulled the elfling away from the warriors.

Aredhel felt a cold icy feeling shoot through his body as he stood to the side, waiting for the guard to explain.

The warrior swallowed hard and began in a low voice. "Captain Thoronbel, Aredhel. First off, I am extremely happy to see you again. Even more, I cannot believe my lord Legolas is indeed still alive. The kingdom will be delighted beyond imagine! But that leads me to the second point. As for my king Thranduil…not too many elves know the true extent of his injury, but I know it is very bad. The healers have been talking about some sort of damage to his head, and how it would take a miracle to heal completely."

"But we have a miracle here!" Aredhel interrupted, indicating Legolas who was running around the courtyard with Sirion and Aphadon. He couldn't believe what the guard was telling them, about Thranduil's condition. He had desperately hoped that by the time they returned, the king would be pretty much all healed up. That definitely wasn't true. "We have to bring Legolas to my king right now!"

Thoronbel was silent, clenching his fists in anger and self-loathing for not being able to protect his king. _Some captain you are! Can't protect my lord when he is in the most danger? What use am I? What was I even doing?! _After a while of silence, the elf spoke up slowly. "We cannot expose my prince Legolas to the horrors of disease and injury. He cannot handle seeing his father like that. We must keep my prince away from the king for a little while, until at least my lord recovers a little more."

Before either elf could answer, Legolas came darting over, grabbing onto Aredhel's legs and looking up with begging eyes. "Where is Ada? Take me to him! Please! Where is Cel? Where is Ada?!"

Aredhel knelt down in front of Legolas, not knowing how on earth he was going to tell the elfling that he had to wait even longer to see his father. "My lord…"

"What happened to Ada? I know something bad happened! I need him! I can make him feel better, I promise!" Legolas cried, tears starting to streak down his little cheeks. "I just want to be with my Ada!"

Aredhel opened his mouth to reply, feeling like his heart was being stabbed a thousand times over. But before the warrior could speak, Legolas ran past and streaked towards the palace doors.

Thoronbel called after him and immediately chased started chasing his prince, terrified that the elfling would see his father and be unable to take the shock.

Too late.

The elfling ran across the courtyard and pounded on the huge palace doors desperately, crying that he wanted to go in. the guards stationed at the doors who were shocked and unable to refuse an order from their beloved prince who they previously thought was dead, pushed the doors open wide and Legolas dashed inside.

Once in the huge familiar halls of his home, the elfling felt excitement swelling in his chest. Maybe his father didn't know he was coming, and it was going to be a big surprise! Legolas loved surprises. He couldn't wait to see his father and brother again.

The little prince sprinted down the halls of Thranduil, shocking all the servants along the way who stared with mouths open at their prince appearing in the palace again. Many of them believed they had imagined it, since the elfling streaked by so quickly.

Legolas ran and ran, feeling like it was taking way too long to get to his father's room. He was ridiculously excited. A huge grin splashed over his face and uncontrollable giggles escaped his lips as his feet flew in the air with each step. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elfling turned down a very familiar hall and skidded to a stop in front of a pair of huge doors looming in front of him.

The doors were intricately decorated with swirling designs of the forest and finished with large gold handles. Legolas wrapped his little hands around one of the handles and pushed as hard as he could.

The door swung open soundlessly and the elfling nearly burst in excitement. He dove into the room, squealing in joy, fully expecting to see his father standing and ready to give him a humongous hug, never to let go again.

What Legolas saw was a dim, empty room that had obviously been unoccupied for a little while. That didn't make sense. His father was always in here. Legolas scampered to the other side of the chamber and pushed through the door to Thranduil's bedroom. Nothing. The huge bed was neatly arranged with pillows, but untouched.

The elfling stood in the middle of the room, scared and confused. Where was Thranduil? The door to the king's room suddenly opened, and Legolas leapt for it in excitement. He thought it was his father returning from wherever he had been.

Instead, it was a servant who had come to clean his king's chambers. They were all on strict instructions to organize and clean it just like they would if Thranduil was still using it, so when the king recovered he would be able to return to his room and feel like nothing changed.

The servant froze when he saw Legolas, whose grin quickly faded when he realized the elf was not Thranduil. "My lord….Legolas!" The servant gasped. "You're alive! How did you get back?" he was quite confused, since Thoronbel and Aredhel had yet to appear, and it seemed that the elfling had suddenly materialized from thin air. Nevertheless, the servant was beyond happy to see him. _He's not dead! He's not dead! Valar, this is amazing! _

Legolas tugged on the servant's arm, whimpering. "Where is Ada? Where is he?!" he begged, tears streaming down his face.

The servant crouched down, unsure what to say. _I can't refuse to tell him….he's my prince! _"My lord…..king Thranduil is…..in the healing rooms."

"Where's that? Why isn't he here? Take me there! Please!" Legolas cried, pulling on the servant's sleeve. "Hurry!" The elfling completely burst into tears, wailing and sobbing for his father. "I want to see my Ada. I want to see him!"

"Shhh, it's okay, my lord. It'll be okay." The servant whispered, wiping the elfling's tears with a handkerchief. "I have to clean the king's chamber, but I can tell you where the healing rooms are, okay? Would you like that?"

Legolas nodded tearfully, his lower lip quivering as a fresh wave of silver rain slid down his face. "I have good memory." He whimpered.

The servant smiled. "Of course you do! Now listen carefully. To get to the healing rooms, you have to go down this hall and turn left at the very end. Then run all the way to the end of that hall, and turn left again. Then take the first right, and when you're in that hall, go through the huge double doors. Once you're in the room, you'll see several smaller doors. I've heard that my king is in the third door from the left."

The elfling nodded furiously, memorizing the elf's words and wiping his tears on his sleeve. "I got it. Hannon le."

"Don't thank me, my prince," the servant smiled sadly.

Legolas gave the servant a hug and burst out of his father's room, turning down the hallway and sprinting as if a warg was on his heels. He wiped away his remaining tears as he ran, knowing that soon he would see his father again. This thought filled him with joy and spurred his little feet to fly faster over the ground.

The second son of king Thranduil tore down the halls of his home, not caring about the beauties of the palace that would have awed anyone else, and blowing past all the elves he passed leaving them shocked and confused upon seeing their prince they thought was dead.

Legolas stumbled through the directions in his mind, hoping that he remembered everything correctly. Once he turned right into another section of the palace, he saw a pair of ginormous double doors up ahead. The elfling squealed in excitement and dove for the doors, wrapping little hands around a handle and launching his entire body weight against it.

The door swung open into a large spacious room that was cleaner then the color white according to the elfling. Legolas paused, staring with wide eyes at the delicate lights hanging from the curved ceiling and the fancy furniture arranged neatly in the room splashed with sun that streamed through huge windows on either side of the chamber.

Straight across from Legolas stood several beautifully furnished doors with silver handles. The elfling had never seen this room before, and was fascinated. What type of place was this? Perhaps a very special room for special people like his father.

Legolas remembered the servant had said Thranduil was behind the third door, so he skipped towards it and placed his little hand on the round handle. He could not contain his excitement one moment longer. He desperately longed to see his father, hear his voice, and feel his arms around him. He wanted to leap into Thranduil's lap and never leave again. They were going to have such a fun time!

Legolas giggled and slowly pushed the door open, ready to surprise his father and leap into his arms.

"Ada!"

However, what he found was not what he expected.

Thranduil was propped up in a bed with a bunch of fully pillows under him, his head tilted back and eye closed. A blanket was pulled up to his waist, exposing his bare torso which was criss crossed with white bandages. But one thing scared Legolas the most.

His closed eye.

Legolas was suddenly sucked into a flashback, to one of the fights that had occurred back at the hunting house. He remembered cowering under the little table in the kitchen as orcs stomped in, grinning with teeth dripping black spit as they eyed him hungrily.

He remembered crying and sobbing in fear, powerless against the creatures as they approached. He remembered Gurthang dashing into the house, engaging the orcs, keeping them away from the elfling. He remembered Gurthang's gasps of pain and blood pouring onto the floor as swords flashed red.

He remembered the last orc being killed and Gurthang falling to the ground, eyes closed and body stilled forever. Aredhel had then burst in frantically, throwing the orc bodies outside and gently but swiftly pulling Gurthang away from Legolas who was paralyzed in shock and fear.

He remembered asking Aredhel what happened to Gurthang. Aredhel reluctantly replied that the warrior would never come back, ever again.

Legolas remembered Gurthang's lifeless face, his closed eyes.

Closed eyes. Gurthang would never come back again. "Death", as Aredhel said.

Death.

Legolas stared at Thranduil, his mouth and eyes wide open in terror. _Ada…Ada! His eyes…. _Elves never closed their eyes while sleeping, which the elfling concluded his father was doing. They never closed their eyes. And yet Thranduil's eye was closed.

That meant…..

Legolas opened his mouth and released a blood curdling scream.

He turned and dashed out of the room his father was in, out of the healing rooms, tearing down the halls of Thranduil once more, his mind reeling. This time, his destination was his brother's room. _Ada! Ada! Ada! Cel….Cel will know what to do! Cel….Cel….._

* * *

Celeberyn sighed and stood up as the council adjourned. No one was really paying much attention anyway, due to their suspense and worry for Thranduil. Galion handed the crown prince the documents he had to read, wincing apologetically. He hated burdening Celeberyn with such work, especially since he already had so much pain sitting on his shoulders like a herd of mumakil that refused to leave.

"It's okay, Galion. I know you have a lot of pressure from trying to keep the kingdom under control. Hannon le." Celeberyn smiled. He quickly excused himself and hurried back down the halls to the healing rooms to be with his father. He spent all his time with Thranduil now, never returning to his own chamber for fear that something might happen to his father while he was gone.

As Celeberyn walked, he read the document in his hand carefully, grumbling about the complaints that were stuffed in the words. "I'm going to have to consult Ada on this one," he murmured. "Consulting" Thranduil now usually meant that the crown prince would sit next to his father, explain the situation, debate with himself, then eventually settle on a decision that he knew his father would probably choose.

Celeberyn's feet automatically led him to the healing rooms as his mind focused on the document, muttering to himself and trying to devise a workable solution. As the crown prince arrived just outside the large doors, a scream suddenly sounded from inside.

An elfling's scream.

Celeberyn's head whipped up in surprise as something streaked by him and tore down the halls. An elfling. A little elfling with blonde hair streaming behind him as he disappeared around a corner.

Celeberyn's mouth dropped open and his body froze in shock, the document slipping out of his hand and falling to the ground, forgotten. _No. No. No. It cannot be. It cannot be. This must be some sort of trick. _And yet the prince's heart refused to stay still, forcing his body to sprint after the elfling, desperate to catch up. His mind reeled in shock, pain and desperation, shattering all rational thoughts.

_Oh Valar, please. Please…..don't let this be a dream. Please._

* * *

Legolas ran as fast as he could, crying and sobbing hard as he tore blindly towards Celeberyn's room. By now the entire palace had been sent in an uproar, the servants longing to see their prince and others rushing to see if the rumors were true. Thoronbel and Aredhel were also somewhere in the palace, looking for the prince and hoping that he hadn't seen Thranduil yet.

The elfling ignored everyone as he approached his brother's room, desperate to see him. He shoved into Celeberyn's bedchamber easily, due to the amount of times he'd crashed in to play with him.

The room was empty.

The curtains of the huge windows were closed, something Celeberyn never did. It was cold and dim, revealing how it had been unoccupied for some time. Pale light filtered through a crack in the curtains, spilling on the ground and illuminating the thin layer of dust that had settled on everything.

Legolas shook with fear and shock. What was going on? Where was his brother? The elfling started sobbing hard, scared beyond imagine with no idea what to do. What if Cel was 'dead' too? He stood in the middle of the empty room, chewing on his sleeves with tears streaming down his face, paralyzed. He wailed and cried, his world completely twisted and empty. Legolas had no idea what was going on, and he just wanted everything to end.

An elf appeared in the doorway, staring at Legolas in pure shock. After a moment he forced his feet to move and kneel in front of the little prince.

The elfling suddenly felt a hand wiping his runny nose, and his eyes flew open, his sobbing put on temporary "pause". Only one person wiped his nose like that. Legolas was met with Celeberyn's huge, unbelieving blue-green eyes staring up at him.

"L-L -Legolas. Legolas. Is this real?" Celeberyn whispered, searing the image of the elfling's face into his mind. "Legolas. Little brother. Please don't let this be a dream."

Legolas' lower lip quivered as he stared at his brother. "Cel!" he flew into his arms and started sobbing terribly, burying his face in Celeberyn's neck and clenching his little fists in his hair. "Cel I thought you were 'dead'!"

"Oh Valar….." Celeberyn wrapped his arms around his little brother tightly and hugged him close, tears streaming down his face. He closed his eyes and memorized the warmth of Legolas' little body, the wetness of his tears and strength of his hug. The crown prince kissed Legolas repeatedly, feeling emotions of pain, joy, disbelief, and shock overwhelm his heart. Unbelievable. There is nothing to describe what was going through Celeberyn's mind.

He repeated Legolas' name over and over, as if convincing himself that his brother was really here, alive, in his arms. "Hannon le. Hannon le." He whispered. "You brought Legolas back to me. Hannon le. Valar, little brother, you're alive!"

Even when Legolas started to pull back to look at his brother, Celeberyn refused to let go. He held the elfling tightly, crying his heart and soul out.

Eventually Celeberyn forced himself to calm down a little and he leaned back on his knees in the middle of his room, holding Legolas close in his lap.

Legolas tilted his head and looked up at his brother, who smiled through his tears and kissed him on the nose. "Legolas." He whispered. "Legolas, I will never let you go again, I promise. And I never break my promises."

"Promise?" The elfling demanded.

"Promise. On my life." He whispered.

"No. Not on your life. Ada….." Legolas suddenly burst into tears again, much to Celeberyn's horror. "Cel, what's wrong with Ada? 'Red said that when your eyes are closed it means you're 'dead'. Is Ada 'dead'? how can we make him come back? I want Ada!"

"Oh, Legolas," Celeberyn whispered brokenly, kissing the top of his head. "You saw Ada, didn't you?" he asked, remembering the scream he heard in the healing room.

"Yes," the elfling whimpered.

"It's alright. Ada is alive. He'll be okay. He'll be okay now that you're here."

"What does that mean?" Legolas craned his neck to look at his brother. "A lot of people said that. I know I make Ada feel better, but…." The elfling shook his head, his priorities shooting back up to the surface. "Ada is okay? Then I need to see him again! Is he going to wake up? But why are his eyes closed?"

Celeberyn scooped Legolas up in his arms, holding him close. "Tell you what, little leaf. Let's go see Ada, and then I'll explain. But you have to promise to be brave, okay? No matter what."

"Okay." Legolas responded, feeling like he could do anything now that his brother was with him.

Celeberyn walked towards the healing rooms holding Legolas as the servants all gasped in shock and joy. The palace was immediately risen in a chorus of excitement, pure happiness rolling in the air for the first time in a month.

The crown prince stopped for no one, making a beeline for the room his father was in as the healers looked up in disbelief. They quickly finished up what they were doing for Thranduil, then ducked out of the room with huge grins plastered on their faces.

Once alone, Celeberyn sat down on the edge of the king's bed with Legolas in his lap whimpering in fear. "Don't be afraid," Celeberyn assured the elfling. "Ada is alive. See?" he took Legolas' little hand and placed it over Thranduil's heart. "Feel that? That's heartbeat. It means that Ada is alright."

Legolas smiled, feeling a slow thumping rhythm flip under his fingers. _Heartbeat. Ada's heartbeat. _His blue eyes traveled up to Thranduil's face and he pressed against Celeberyn in fear. "B-but his eye…..it's closed."

"It's okay." Celeberyn took a deep breath and leaned forward, kissing his father on the cheek. "Ada," he whispered. "Ada! Wake up." The crown prince knew he probably shouldn't do this, but he also knew that seeing Legolas would greatly improve Thranduil's condition. "Ada."

Thranduil gradually stirred slightly as his mind was pulled towards consciousness even though he hated it since waking up only reminded him of what he lost. Controlling his body movements was also pretty difficult, including opening his eyes. But he did it anyway, because he knew Celeberyn probably had something important to say if he had resorted to waking Thranduil.

He did _not _prepare himself for what he saw.

Legolas whimpered and stared at Thranduil's clear blue eye which met his with disbelief. "Ada!" he cried. "Ada you're okay! I knew you would be! Because you're a hero and heroes will always be okay! That's what 'Red said." Legolas launched himself at his father and wrapped his arms around his neck, crying his soul out. The elfling was whole again. He was finally back with his daddy. And he will never ever leave. Ever.

Emotions were swirling around Thranduil, paralyzing him. His feelings were indescribable. Disbelief, joy, pain, longing, and happiness didn't even begin to cover it. His shattered heart was picked up and reassembled with Legolas' skillful little hands.

Thranduil slowly tilted his head down and kissed the top of his son's head, the little movement causing difficulty for his brain. Desperation clawed at his mind and unbelievable love exploded through his heart as he stared down at his son, tears streaking down his face.

Legolas pulled back, confused that Thranduil hadn't hugged him back or spoken a single word yet. "Ada?" He whimpered, afraid that his father was mad at him. "Ada, I'm sorry, please don't be mad! Why aren't you hugging me? Say something, Ada, please!"

Thranduil's heart screamed at his mind to do something. His brain responded slowly and with difficulty, his thoughts flying around frantically but unable to be put into words. After a long pause with Legolas crying quietly waiting for his father to speak, Thranduil finally choked out three words with extreme difficulty that were spoken mostly due to sheer willpower.

"S….s…..s..stay…w…..w…with me."

Legolas grinned, kissing Thranduil's cheek. "Don't be scared, Ada. I'll stay with you for ever an' ever!" the elfling then cocked his head, gently tracing his father's bandages with one hand. "Cel…..why is Ada covered with these? I've had them before. Ada calls them owie-papers and he puts them on my finger when I get an owie."

Celeberyn hesitated. "Well, Ada has a really big owie right now, so we put them on so he can get better."

"Oh." Legolas felt really sad, that the entire left side of his father's face and the left side of his body was covered with owie-papers. "That must have hurt, Ada." He whispered, then smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry! The papers don't work very well. Ada always kisses my owie to make it better. My kisses will work too, right Ada?"

Legolas kissed Thranduil's bandaged cheek, forehead, and jaw, grinning. "Does it feel better, Ada?"

Thranduil forced his brain to command himself to nod slightly as tears cascaded down his face, but Legolas wasn't convinced. "No, no, no. Why are you crying? Don't worry, I'll kiss it all better, and once you feel good again we can play, okay?" the elfling giggled, kissing Thranduil's cheek again. "I love you Ada and I'll stay with you for ever an' ever."

* * *

***I know in middle earth they wouldn't have known what Cerebral hypoxia is, but there really is no other way for me to talk about it without mentioning the name. I'm sorry if this ruins things, but I can't help it... **

**Sooo what do you think? I hope it wasn't too bad, and lives up to your "reunion" expectations. Personally I love it ^_^ *laughs***

**Sorry if it feels like I'm beating down on Thranduil too much. I promise he'll get a lot more story time soon. It's just that with such serious injuries, he can't escape unscathed, right? And dont' worry, this is all TEMPORARY! ^_^ I'll make sure our Thranduil gets healed up perfectly in the future. **

**Anyways, more reunion in the next chapter that I hope will be updated soon. **

**Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. and a HUGE thanks to everyone who favs and follows this! It means a lot to me! **

**As always, suggestions and ideas are welcome. ^_^**

**~1 Peter 1:3~ Happy Easter! **


	9. Stay with me

**Thank you all so much for your support and praise! I'm so glad you all liked the reunion last chapter ^_^ I think you can put the tissues away for the rest of the story now...maybe. My plot bunnies have gone absolutely crazy and I have no idea what they're gonna do...**

**So apparently even though I'm on spring break I don't have a break from school work... T^T I need to escape reality...I'm going to Mirkwood, guys! You're welcome to join me if you want. I still have a few empty seats in the carriage**

**Okay, so I promised myself this chapter would be shorter...eh that didn't really work. *laughs* so make sure you don't have anything important to do before you read this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Sooo I tried to sneak into the palace and steal the rights, and I got pretty close - I was allowed to get the ones to Cel, Aredhel, Elfaron (btw, where did he disappear to? he just seemed to leave the story...) and a few others, but sadly, I was caught before I got the ones to Legolas and Thranduil T^T. So still don't own anything ('cept for my OC's ^_^) **

**WoodElfJedi: I'm sorry I made you cry ^_^ I'm really glad you liked it though! And I do feel honored - in fact I feel beyond honored that I made you cry! (that sounds weird...*laughs*) Especially since I'm the second author that's made you cry? Goodness...I don't even know what to say *laughs* I've never thought that my writing has been so good before. LOL I actually get really emotional and I cry at like EVERYTHING and it's super embaressing *laughs*. Oh, and although my Star Wars knowledge is limited, I do know Jar Jar ^_^. I have recently tried plot bunny stew, and it's quite good! I have a great recipe. I'll be sure to try grilled plot bunny too ^O^**

**Guest: Thanks! So glad you liked my reunion - hoped it wasn't too sad! Well...more reunion-stuffy in this chapter! Hope you like it! **

**Kay I've wasted enough of your time...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Thranduil wanted to bawl like a baby. Under normal circumstances, this would have embarrassed him – what kind of dignified, stubborn, powerful king would cry like an elfling? But these were not normal circumstances. First of all, Thranduil was alive. That was already a miracle. Second, the kingdom was alive. Third, Legolas was alive.

Legolas.

His little leaf.

Is _alive. _

If only Thranduil could see him.

He knew he was there, of course. He could feel his son's weight and hear his voice, but he couldn't see him very well. Legolas was merely a blur of color. _Curse you, stupid eye! _Thranduil wanted to scream. His left eye was gone, and his right one refused to work properly, throwing his world into a swirl of color with no lines, as if someone had tossed everything into a huge mixing bowl and stirred it up to make rainbow cake. _Not _very helpful for someone who actually wanted to _see_ things.

"Ada, does it feel better now? Ada say something, please? Does it still hurt? Don't be scared, okay? I'll make you feel better! I'll never ever leave you!" Legolas grinned, poking Thranduil's right cheek. Thranduil wanted to smile back, but his brain refused to send any signals which frustrated the king. It was as if all his thoughts were floating around in his brain but he couldn't grasp any to form commands or words.

After a pause, Thranduil heard Legolas' whimper, "Ada, why didn't you laugh? You always laugh when I make that face!"

Thranduil knew exactly what "face" Legolas was talking about, and he probably would have laughed even with his uncooperative brain, if he'd been able to see the elfling do it. But that was the problem. He couldn't see anything.

Legolas was getting scared. His father wasn't responding, not even when he made "the face" that _always_ made Thranduil laugh until he cried. There was something terribly wrong. "Ada?" the elfling whimpered. He turned to look fearfully at Celeberyn, wrapping his little arms around Thranduil's neck. "Cel, why isn't Ada responding?"

"Legolas…." Celeberyn started, unsure what he would say. "You promised you'd be brave, right? Let me tell you a story, okay?" Legolas nodded, snuggling next to Thranduil as his brother began.

"So once there lived a great elvenking who was super powerful and caring. He ruled over a big kingdom and everything was safe. But one day they were attacked. Because the king was such a selfless elf, he protected his people and was injured really badly. There was something else, though. Because the battle was so dangerous, the king sent his little son away to be safe. Do you understand it so far, little brother?"

Legolas nodded, chewing on a lock of Thranduil's hair. "What happened to the king?"

"Well, you see, the king loved his son very very much, so he was very sad when he sent his son away. But he knew he had to, because he couldn't risk having him be hurt in the battle. The king was injured very badly, and after the battle was over the healers worked hard to heal him. "

"And he got better, right?" Legolas whimpered.

"He…..actually got worse, because then an elf came and told the king that his little son had died. The king was devastated. The healers tried to heal his physical body, but they couldn't heal his heart. There was also something else. Your brain is up here, right?" Celeberyn asked, tapping his head. Legolas nodded, eyes wide, for he didn't know what would come next.

"During the battle, something had gone wrong in the king's brain. He suddenly found himself unable to move and speak very well. You see, your brain is very important. It tells your body what to do. So the king's brain wasn't working very well. But because the healers tried so hard, he eventually started recovering. Then one day, the king's little son came back - the elfling wasn't actually dead! After they were reunited, the king's heart gradually healed up. But his brain still couldn't function perfectly, so he seemed really unresponsive."

Legolas whimpered and gently traced over Thranduil's bandages. "But his son is back! When will he get better?"

"…Think of it like this – Ada's brain decided that it didn't like being a normal brain. So instead, it temporarily went to being a different one, king of like an elfling's. Ada can't really move or speak right now, but soon he'll be back to normal and you'll feel like nothing ever happened." Celeberyn explained, hoping that he was true.

"Really?" Legolas giggled. "Since Ada's like an elfling, that means we're the same, right?" he kissed Thranduil on the cheek, grinning. "I'll take good care of you! No, no, don't cry, Ada. Everything will be okay!"

Thranduil _really_ wanted to bawl like a baby now.

He was also going to have a long talk with his brain after he recovered. _Seriously. You suck. Mitho orch, stupid brain. _

Those thoughts still paled against what was swirling around in his heart though. It was as if there were a hundred Thranduils running around each with a different emotion, screaming and waving their arms, trying to be expressed. However, all of them decided that they were overjoyed. _Completely _overjoyed.

When Legolas slid off the bed, Thranduil panicked.

The king tried to speak, and since he was so determined, his brain managed to command his vocal chords to work a little. It wasn't exactly what Thranduil wanted to say, though.

Legolas immediately whipped around, staring at his father in fear. He'd just heard a strange sound come from his throat, like a weird oliphuant grunt. "Ada…..are you feeling okay?"

What Thranduil really wanted to say was that he didn't want Legolas to leave. However, a second attempt to speak produced no sound at all, which really frustrated the king.

Thankfully, Celeberyn understood easily. "Don't worry, Ada, Legolas is just going to get some books. He'll be back in a few moments."

"Yeah!" Legolas agreed, grinning. "I'll read to you, okay?" The elfling giggled and skipped out of the room towards the library which was only a few doors down.

Celeberyn turned to Thranduil, grinning as tears sprang to his eyes like they were desperate for air. The crown prince took his father's hand and kissed his fingers, trying to ignore the slack weight which always tore at him. "Legolas is alive, Ada! He's alive! Our green leaf is alive….." he choked, unable to continue.

Thranduil mentally replied to Celeberyn over and over again, expressing his inexpressible feelings. He couldn't quite believe it either, but accepted it wholeheartedly. As long as his green leaf existed, there was hope.

Legolas giggled and ran back into the room with a pile of elfling books in his arms, diving onto Thranduil's bed with a squeal. "Ada, protect me!" he said, voice muffled through the pillows he was smashing his face into.

A moment later Aredhel and Thoronbel suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking as if they were ready to leap into a fire and rescue their poor little prince.

Thranduil couldn't see, so he thought it was just two healers who decided that awkwardly standing by the door was a good idea. He was pretty confused as to what they wanted.

Thoronbel was relieved to see Thranduil awake and seemingly well. _He looks better then when I saw him last! Thank the Valar._

Aredhel was shocked.

The warrior hadn't seen Thranduil after he got burned, so seeing the entire left side his king's body wrapped with bandages was pretty painful. Since Thranduil gave no response or indication that he'd seen them, Thoronbel decided that awkwardly standing there proved nothing, and proceeded to introduce themselves even though he felt quite strange doing it.

"It's me, Thoronbel, the captain of my king's guard, and Aredhel, the warrior sent to protect my lord Legolas."

The elves in the room all waited for Thranduil's reaction.

However, none of them could have prepared themselves for what was going to happen.

Thoronbel's words pieced Thranduil's mind slowly as if they came from another dimension. _Captain….guard….warrior…_Suddenly, Thranduil panicked. The events of the battle flooded over him. _Warrior…the dragons….fire! Legolas…..Legolas!_ The king no longer remembered Legolas was right next to him, and he went into shock.

Thranduil's right eye widened in horror and he started trembling uncontrollably. Celeberyn's mouth dropped open and Legolas whimpered in fear as Thranduil lurched forward, sweat dripping off his face as his lips began to take on a bluish tint. _Fire….burned. Burned. Legolas. Legolas. Legolas! _

"Ada! Ada!" Legolas cried, shaking his father's shoulder. "Ada what's wrong?!"

"Valar…." Celeberyn shot up from the bed and dashed out of the room, begging for the healers.

Thranduil gasped, shaking terribly as he clenched a fist in the bedsheets. Legolas pushed back his father's golden hair and kissed his cheek, whimpering in fear. The healers rushed in, took one look at Thranduil, and leapt to his side.

"What happened?" One of the healers demanded.

"Thoronbel just introduced himself and Aredhel," Celeberyn explained, eyes wide.

The healer's face paled as he realized what had happened. He turned to the two warriors and kindly asked them to leave the room. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I can't have the king seeing you again until after he completely recovers."

Thoronbel and Aredhel left obediently, fearing terribly for their king and screaming at themselves for being the cause of this strange behavior.

"It's okay, my lord," the healers murmured, sitting in front of the king and speaking in soothing voices. "Just breathe. Just breathe."

"What's going on?" Celeberyn begged.

"He's in shock."

"My lord Legolas, please sit here." Legolas obediently crawled over so he was directly in front of his father. "My king," the healer said calmly, forcing Thranduil to turn in their direction. "See, prince Legolas is right here. He's okay. Just breathe."

After a few moments, Thranduil's gasping subsided and his shaking gradually stopped, much to everyone's relief. Legolas jumped back to his original position and wiped his father's sweat with his sleeve as he whimpered, scared and confused.

The healers sat back, not realizing their hands had been trembling in fear. "My king's recent past experiences have been very traumatic, and small things are enough to retrigger the pain and shock. Thoronbel and Aredhel introduced themselves as warriors, which reminded my king of the battle, my lord Legolas….and so on."

"Will these happen often?" Celeberyn demanded, his heart seizing in fear.

"…It depends. It might last a very short period of time, or a very long one. We cannot tell. I'm sorry, my lord."

"No….no it's not your fault….." Celeberyn trailed off, trying not to tear himself apart. He couldn't imagine his father having to revisit those terrible events over and over again…..the pain would be unbearable.

A little while later, the healers left and Legolas picked up his books shakily, ready to start reading to Thranduil. He didn't know what happened to his father, and he just wanted to cheer him up.

Legolas settled himself in Thranduil's lap and picked up a book. "Cel, sit here!" the elfling ordered, patting the area right next to the king. "I'll read to you too."

Celeberyn smiled, pushing away his fear and pain, and jumped in beside Thranduil who had now recovered from his shock. "What story are you telling us, little brother?"

Legolas tilted his head back and grinned. "So everyone, the first book I'm reading is 'A brave warrior' it's the first one I learned to read!"

There must have been only a few words on each page, but the elfling read it with enthusiasm, giggling and adding his own sound effects to the story as Celeberyn laughed. Each character had a different voice, and Legolas would add random touches to the story here and there.

After Legolas read three or four books, he got bored and stared making up his own stories that all turned out to be pretty strange. "Once there was a super good warrior who was good at everything! And one day he went in the forest and then it started raining! And then he climbed a tree and started eating acorns!"

Celeberyn burst out laughing, and maybe he was overreacting, but he really didn't care. He just wanted to laugh with Legolas again. Then he heard something beautiful.

The laugh of his father.

Legolas and Celeberyn whipped around and was met with the heart wrenching sight and sound of Thranduil's light laugh. It was like listening to tinkling bells or the most beautiful song in Arda.

Legolas turned so he was sitting facing Thranduil, who was grinning at him. "Ada!" The elfling squealed. "You laughed! You're okay!"

"L-Legolas….stop."

"You said something! You said something!" Legolas smile faded as he cocked his head with a puzzled expression on his face. "But why do you want me to stop?"

"Stop…..stop!"

Thranduil was smiling and looked thoroughly happy, so Legolas couldn't understand why his father wouldn't want him to continue. Oh well. He'll just come up with a new story for him! "What kind of story do you want to hear?" The elfling grinned.

"No…." Thranduil replied with difficulty. "Stop."

_What? _Celeberyn knew his father probably wanted to hear more, yet his mouth spilled words that were opposite of his thoughts. _Opposite…that's it! _"Ada," Celeberyn said, "You want Legolas to go on with the story, right?"

Thranduil nodded. "Stop."

Celeberyn smiled at Legolas. "Ada wants you to continue, little leaf." _So he gets the meanings of words mixed up, and sometimes says the opposite of what he means._ The crown prince mentally filed the information away in case this happened again.

"Really? Really?" Legolas grinned, scooting closer in his father's lap. "Okay! Well after he ate all the acorns, he turned into an acorn! And then guess what? He became the bestest acorn warrior in all of Arda!"

Celeberyn laughed. "Acorn warrior?"

"Yes! He was super duper good! And he wasn't the size of a normal acorn, he was an acorn as big as an elf!"

"Wow, that's a big acorn!"

"Uh-huh! And he used weapons made of leaves!" Legolas looked around, searching for something to draw on so he could show his father what the acorn warrior looked like. His eyes landed on a small table where the healers had left some papers and a pen, and reached for the pen excitedly.

"Ada, this is what he looked like!" The elfling took the pen and started drawing on the bandages on Thranduil's left forearm, not knowing that his father couldn't see. Pretty soon there was an acorn warrior perched there with big eyes and a squiggly mouth holding a bow. "When the acorn warrior's Ada and brother found out he became an acorn, they decided to be acorns too! And that's how the first acorn family in Mirkwood came to be!" Legolas giggled, adding two more acorns on his drawing.

"Acorn family?" Celeberyn grinned. "What do they do?"

"They control food, and make cakes possible!"

"Ooohhh do they?"

"Uh-huh!" Legolas giggled. "They're super important!"

A low knock sounded at the door, and a moment later a healer entered with a small bowl of soup. "I'm sorry for interrupting. Give this to my king, it will help him with his sleep problems," he explained, handing the bowl to Celeberyn. He then gave the crown prince another tray, this one stacked with plates of food for the two princes. Hesitating, the healer asked, "My lord Celeberyn and my lord Legolas. Are you sure you don't need a break?"

Celeberyn shook his head as Legolas replied seriously, "Of course not! I promised Ada I would never ever leave him, and I never break my promises. What if Ada gets scared when I'm gone?"

The healer bowed, moved by his little prince. "As you wish, my lord."

Celeberyn nodded his thanks as the healer left and Legolas started bouncing in Thranduil's lap excitedly. "I want to feed Ada!"

The crown prince grinned and handed his little brother the soup who took it carefully with eyes shining as if this was the best thing he ever got to do. "Okay Ada," He said in a grown-up voice. "Say 'Ahhhhh'."

"Ahhhhh….."

Thranduil opened his mouth as Legolas scooped up a spoonful of the warm soup….and spilled it on the blanket. The elfling's face fell. "I'm sorry Ada…..I'll be more careful!" Legolas filled another spoonful and fixed it with an intense stare as he slowly raised it, watching the cloudy liquid splosh close to the edges of the spoon. In fact, he was so focused that he wasn't paying attention to where he was raising it.

"Wah!" Legolas looked up as the spoon bumped into Thranduil's nose, spilling a little. The elfling quickly poured the remaining spoonful into his father's mouth and wiped his nose as if he were the elfling. "Oopsies. Sorry Ada." He giggled.

Thranduil smiled and reached through his haze of blurred vision in the direction of Legolas, trying to touch him. But he didn't know he was reaching in the wrong direction.

"Ada Ada you're moving!" Legolas squealed.

Thranduil felt really confused. He thought that with the position of his hand, he should already be in contact with his son, but his fingers were only met with air.

Celeberyn's heart stumbled in pain as he gently guided his father's hand to Legolas. The elfling beamed as Thranduil brushed his cheek, spooning up some more soup to pour in his mouth.

"Does it taste yummy?" Legolas asked.

Thranduil nodded as his hand dropped limply back on the bed, weakened beyond imagine. His mind was already shutting down as sleep started pulling him into their embrace, no matter how much he wanted to continue hearing Legolas' voice and feeling his presence. Just before he descended into the depths of unconsciousness, Thranduil managed to choke out four words.

"Stay….….with me. Please."

Legolas grinned, kissing his father on the cheek. "Don't be scared Ada, I promised I'll stay with you for all of eternity!"

* * *

Celeberyn had brought to Thranduil's bedside a stack of documents with him containing issues that he was required to read and decide solutions for. The crown prince and Legolas had just finished eating. Or rather, playing. After a very messy round of "Mirkwood versus orcs", the ground had been covered with food balls, that the two then devised a game of cleaning it all up of.

Now Legolas was snuggled up next to Thranduil as Celeberyn consulted him on some of the situations. "Legolas, what do you think we should do?"

"Um…..give them all some food and they'll feel better!"

Celeberyn laughed. "I wish it were that easy, little brother," he said, making a note on the paper.

Legolas giggled and buried himself deeper in the pillows, lazily tracing patterns on Thranduil's bandages. The crown prince sifted through the rest of the documents and frowned. "Hey, little brother, I need to get something from Galion, okay? I'll be right back."

"NO! You have to stay with me!" Legolas said, eyes wide with fear. "Don't go away!"

Celeberyn smiled, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the elfling's nose. "It's okay. I'll just take a couple minutes. I promised I would stay with you, didn't I?" he replied, offering his brother a crooked grin. "I never break my promises, remember?"

After a pause, Legolas eventually agreed, "Fine. But you only have ten seconds."

Celeberyn laughed. "Alright. I'll go as fast as I can."

Legolas watched as his brother swiftly left the room, then turned back to Thranduil with a worried expression as he buried himself further among the pillows. "Ada, Cel won't take long, right? I don't want him to leave a second longer."

Without warning, the king suddenly woke up in fear, shaking terribly. He doubled over, gasping desperately as sweat poured down his face. "Legolas." He choked. His pulse was racing much faster then was safe, and Legolas jumped up in horror. His father's heartbeat wasn't the slow steady rhythm anymore. It was too fast.

"Legolas! Legolas!" Thranduil gasped, face pale with shock.

"Ada! I'm here, it's okay!" Legolas assured him fearfully, wiping his sweat and wrapping his arms around his father's neck. "I'm here Ada."

Tears started streaming down Thranduil's cheeks as he clenched his fist, rocking back and forth like a scared elfling. Legolas held his father tightly, terrified but determined to make him feel better. "It's okay Ada," Legolas whimpered. "I'm here. I promised I would stay for ever an' ever."

After a few moments Thranduil managed to calm down a little as the shock and pain faded and he realized that Legolas was really with him. He wrapped an arm around his son loosely, desperately wishing that he could hug him if his muscles hadn't decided to stop cooperating.

"Legolas," he murmured, his pulse gradually returning to normal. "Legolas."

"Yes, Ada." Legolas said, his voice muffled from burying his face in Thranduil's chest. "Don't be scared, I'm here. Your bad dreams aren't real. They're fake."

The elfling eventually was able to soothe his father enough to make him fall back asleep so he can continue resting and get better. "Whenever I have bad dreams Ada just makes me go back to sleep in his arms and then I feel all better." Legolas explained aloud to the empty room.

A few moments later after Legolas was once again cozily snuggled up next to his father, two healers entered the room, bowing to their little prince before casting worried glances at each other.

"What?" Legolas demanded shakily, afraid that something was wrong with Thranduil. "What's happening?"

One of the healers winced apologetically. "My lord Legolas…..we must change my king Thranduil's bandages."

Legolas sat there, blinking at them. He knew bandages meant owie-papers, and changing them just meant taking off old ones and putting on new ones. He didn't understand why the two elves just stood there uncomfortably, not moving. Weren't they going to start?

The second healer swallowed nervously, unsure how he would explain things to his prince. "My lord…we would ask you to leave the room as we do this, for we don't want you to see….the scars. It might scare you."

Legolas cocked his head in confusion. "What are 'scars'?"

"They're…..things on your skin that linger after you get a really bad injury. We just don't want you to see them and be afraid, so…we must ask you to leave. I'm sorry my lord."

The elfling stared up at the healers as if they'd just asked him to sacrifice his life for something. "No!" he burst, horrified that they'd suggest such an idea. "I'm not leaving Ada! Not for one second! I promised I would stay with him forever an' ever. What if Ada gets scared when I leave? I'm not leaving!"

The healer shifted his feet uncomfortably, knowing that Legolas had to go, but not knowing how they would convince him. "But my lord…we must require your absence….I'm sorry, truly. It's just that…we don't want you to be afraid, and we can't have any…..distractions while working. I'm sorry my lord."

"I won't be afraid, I promise! And I won't distract you!" Legolas insisted. "I'm not leaving Ada."

As the healer opened his mouth to try and coax his little prince into stepping out for a couple moments, Celeberyn returned to the room with his documents. The crown prince took one glance at the two healers and immediately recognized the situation.

Legolas, seeing his brother, jumped into his arms as if he hadn't seen him for years. "You're back finally! Don't ever leave again!" He ordered. "That was way more then ten seconds."

Celeberyn grinned. "Alright. I won't. Don't worry, little brother." He looked back at the healers who had worried expressions on their faces. They were holding a tray with a thick roll of bandages and a couple containers of various salves, smiling uncertainly as they debated what to do. "Green leaf, we have to go for a little while, okay?" Celeberyn said. "We have to let the healers work so they can make Ada all better again."

"No!" Legolas whimpered. "I'm not going anywhere. And you're not either, Cel."

Celeberyn knew they had to leave, but it tore at him. The elfling stared at him and wiggled out of his arms, crawling back on Thranduil's bed and determined not to go anywhere.

"You can't separate us," Legolas said defiantly to the healers.

The crown prince reached over and scooped his brother up in his arms, trying to smile encouragingly. "Let's go to the forest and pick some herbs for Ada, okay?"

"No!" Legolas cried, trying to pull away. "No I don't want to leave!"

"Please, little brother." Celeberyn begged. "We have to go. It'll just be a few minutes. Just a little while. We'll be back before you know it. Ada will be okay. The healers will take good care of him."

"No! No! Cel, don't!" The elfling started crying, reaching desperately for Thranduil as Celeberyn held him closer, standing up. "Cel!" Legolas wailed. "No! I don't want to leave!"

"I'm sorry, little brother," Celeberyn whispered. "It won't take long, I promise." He headed towards the door with Legolas shrieking in horror.

"No! No! Ada!"

The two princes left the healing rooms and down the halls, making a beeline for the main palace doors as Legolas cried rivers onto his brother's clothes. Celeberyn calmed the elfling with soothing words, feeling tears drip down his own cheeks for causing Legolas pain. _Some brother you are! Not only can you not protect him, but you hurt him instead! _"Shh, it's okay green leaf. It's okay. We'll just be out for a few minutes. I'm sorry."

Legolas buried his face in Celeberyn's chest, sobbing and shaking his head quickly. "No," he whimpered. "It's not your fault. I just don't want to leave Ada alone."

"I know, little brother. I know. But I promise next time we won't have to leave, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Celeberyn stepped into the courtyard, soaking in the warm sunlight as he headed towards Thoronbel who was standing to the side. The captain of the guard hurried over to the crown prince, guilt written all over his features as he knelt in front of Celeberyn.

"My lord Celeberyn, how is my king Thranduil? I am so sorry. I never intended to….please forgive me. I would never wish ill upon my king, I swear. Forgive me." Thoronbel said brokenly.

Celeberyn immediately pulled the captain up to his feet as Legolas patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Please, don't do this." The crown prince insisted. "There's nothing to forgive. I know how loyal your heart is. We would never suspect you. As for my father…..he is doing alright. He's already started improving."

"Hannon le, my lord. That is wonderful news!"

"Indeed!" Celeberyn smiled at Legolas, tapping him on the nose. "Little brother, what do you say we go to the forest and pick herbs for Ada to get better? The healers told me about a very special one that can make him better super fast."

"Okay! I'm going to get the very best ones!" The elfling giggled.

"Thoronbel, are you busy right now?" The crown prince asked the warrior.

"No, my lord."

"Can you accompany us into the forest? We won't go far."

"Yes of course!" Thoronbel quickly arranged a small patrol, gathering the most skillful warriors to go with his princes. He wasn't going to take any chances.

Celeberyn lowered Legolas to the ground. "Alright little brother, let's go!"

"No!" the crown prince looked at the elfling in surprise, who clung tightly to him and added, "Don't put me down! Don't ever put me down, okay?" Legolas was never going to be separated from his family again, so that meant never leaving their arms. He didn't really know how he was going to pick herbs like this, but that was irrelevant.

"Okay green leaf. I won't ever put you down." Celeberyn grinned.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The elves happily exited the palace gates and strolled into the forest, determined to find the best herbs to heal their king. The afternoon was warm and comfortable, with songs ringing clearly through the air and laughter cutting the silence with joy. Legolas urged them all to hurry so he could quickly return to his father, telling funny stories about pranks he's pulled or jokes he's told in the past to make the time go by faster.

It was supposed to be a simple, innocent trip into the woods to gather important herbs for Thranduil's recovery. They didn't expect anything to go wrong.

But then again, nothing ever goes as expected.

* * *

**Uh-oh! WoodElfJedi: hehheh, cliffy? Not guilty! ^_^**

**These elves just never get a break, do they? I'm going to find the plot bunny responsible for this and wring it's neck. **

**I'm sorry I'm getting SO ridiculously carried away with this...like I have NO idea where I'm going *laughs* So thank you all so much who have stuck with me! You're all amazing!**

**Okay, I'm going to my carriage now and traveling to Mirkwood. Hey! Looks like I have Cel here with me...**

**Me: Cel, you're an OC, and I actually never really liked OC's, except here I am with a story bursting with them! Help!**

**Cel: Er, well, not much people like OC's, so I think you should give me a smaller role.**

**Me: B-b-buh-but...*turns to you* what do YOU guys think? Should I reduce his role? I feel like OC's are taking over... sorry everyone**

**LOL I'm actually falling in love with Cel. Is that weird? *Laughs***

**Anyway, sorry for all this. High five if you're still reading this! **

**As always, suggestions and ideas are welcome**

**Thanks!**


	10. A hero

**So hope that last cliffy wasn't too bad...at least I have this chapter up real fast, right? ^_^**

**Thank you all for sticking with me! *hugs* Just a few more chapters, I promise ^^ **

**WoodElfJedi: I'll be glad to give you my recipe! As for my plot bunnies...how would you like me to give them to you? I really need to get rid of some of them *laughs* Yayyy I'm so glad you like Cel (he sends his thanks) heh I don't mind if you become attached to him. He's quite flattered, as well as all my other OC's (they send their hugs) Oh I'm glad you liked Legolas' acorn story. That elfling comes up with the randomest things, doesn't he? ^_^ get comfy with cliffys, mellon nin... *grins evilly* I think there are more in the near future...Hey! I see you! *phew* finally reached Mirkwood after a long trip...I've brought Limbairedhiel and Cel with me! **

**Me: I agree with your uh-ohs...I feel like something bad's gonna happen...*hides behind tree* Legolas _is_ pretty cute isn't he ^_^ I wish he were my brother T^T wait...what am I talking about? He's like my BFF! *laughs***

**Guest: Yeah I'm gonna keep going and going and going and going...oops got too carried away...**

**Okay guys so I'm in Mirkwood right now with WoodElfJedi and Limbairedhiel. Fun times, guys! **

**This chapter is kind of long, so...you know the drill! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything...'cept Cel! hehheh pretty proud of that**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"There! There!" Legolas giggled, pointing to a little plant to Celeberyn's left. "It's that one!"

"Is it?" The crown prince crouched by the little green sprout, comparing it with the drawing in his hands.

"It is! It is!"

"You're good at this, green leaf!" Celeberyn smiled.

"Let me pick it! I want to pick it!" Legolas beamed, reaching for the little plant. It had thin stems and broad dark leaves with tiny pale flowers, reminding the elfling of the crown his father wore in summer.

Celeberyn shifted his weight, holding Legolas who grabbed the stem and yanked upwards. The soft soil gave way easily and the plant popped into the little prince's hand, who squealed in accomplishment. Celeberyn had never seen an elfling be so excited over picking a few leaves before. He loved it.

"Okay, Legolas, that's one down! Do you think we can find five?" The crown prince asked, standing as he handed his brother a tiny basket to store the plants.

"Yes! We can find five hundred!"

"Wow! That's a lot! I'm not sure if that many even exist!" Celeberyn grinned. "Let's search some more, okay?"

"Yes! Yes! We have to hurry!" Legolas insisted. He swung his head around, scanning the forest floor as his brother walked carefully among the trees, making sure he didn't step on any of the herbs they needed.

"Oooh! I see one!" Legolas burst, pointing. "It's next to that branch."

Celeberyn planted a kiss on his brother's nose, grinning. "You really are good at this, green leaf! At this rate we'll be done in no time!"

The rest of the small patrol was also skirting the forest, searching for the little plant that the healers said would greatly help improve Thranduil's condition. The elves would do anything for their king, even make friends with dwarves if they had to, so searching for itty-bitty plants that were nearly invisible and required intense looking and crawling, was no big deal for them.

Thoronbel instructed them what ground to cover and where to search, to ensure they didn't overlap or miss any of the little plants. It was like the battlefield. The elves were so focused they could have been trampled by Oliphaunts and not even know.

As Celeberyn crouched by the plant to let Legolas pull it up, his ears picked up a strange sound. Carriage wheels. _What? That's not the sound of a Mirkwood carriage…and it's accompanied by eight elves on horseback…._

Celeberyn quickly caught Thoronbel's attention and beckoned him over. "What's going on?" the crown prince asked in a low voice.

The captain of the guard shook his head, perplexed. "I don't know, my lord."

"Cel, Cel what's wrong?" Legolas asked, catching the tense expression on his brother's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, little brother. Don't worry." Celeberyn replied, forcing a smile.

Thoronbel gestured for the patrol to gather together, the warriors hurrying over immediately with their herbs. It was quite a sight, to see such highly respected warriors holding little flowery plants in their hands.

"Looks like we have enough of the herb for my king." Thoronbel noted. He then tilted his head towards the trees, and every elf soundlessly, as if they'd been practicing synchronized jumping, leapt into them easily, settling in among the leaves.

"Cel, what's happening?" Legolas whispered.

"There's someone coming, but we don't know who. So we're going to sit in the trees and try to see who it is." Celeberyn explained, tightening his hold on the elfling. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad." _I hope._

Legolas peeked through the thick bunches of leaves, trying to spot whatever was coming. He just wanted everything to hurry up so he could go back to Thranduil. As the elfling watched, he saw a carriage approaching in the distance, drawn by two white horses as eight heavily armored elves rode next to it. They seemed…..out of place among the trees. "Who are there?" Legolas asked his brother.

"I don't know. Actually…that's…" Celeberyn gestured to Thoronbel, and the elves dropped gracefully out of the trees, landing on the forest floor soundlessly. The crown prince felt a smile spreading on his face as the carriage approached.

"Who is it, who is it?" Legolas giggled excitedly.

"Someone…I didn't expect…." Celeberyn trailed, excited but confused as to why the elves would be coming to Mirkwood right now. He knew who sat in the carriage, and it puzzled him. The crown prince glanced towards Thoronbel, who shrugged in equal confusion.

The carriage stopped a short distance away, and Celeberyn watched as the door opened….and two elves spilled out, kicking and arguing.

"Valar, El, that's the _fifth_ time today!"

"Well, if _you_ didn't bring up the incident with the dye, maybe this wouldn't be a problem!"

"For the record, that was all _your_ fault!"

"Um, was _I _the one that decided to dump all that in the tub? _No._"

"How am I supposed to know it would stain?!"

Celeberyn watched with amusement and burst out laughing. "Elladan, what have you done now?" The two fighting young elves looked up at the sound of his voice and grinned. Before they could speak, another elf exited the carriage and fixed the two with a dark glare.

"Lord Elrond!" Celeberyn smiled, bowing slightly.

"Ooh Ooh who's that? Who's that?" Legolas burst excitedly, eyes shining with curiosity. The elfling had never seen anyone outside Mirkwood before, and was fascinated with the newcomers' dark hair and bright clothing.

"This is Lord Elrond of Imladris," Celeberyn explained to his brother. "And that's Elladan and Elrohir."

Legolas cocked his head at the two young elves. "Why are they the same?"

"Good question." Elladan said, glaring at his twin. "I have asked that many times."

"If you are referring to the waterfall incident, that was _not _my fault." Elrohir shot back.

Elrond fixed his sons with a glare. "Get it under control. You cannot be disrespectful to the princes of Mirkwood."

"Oohhh Cel, this must be your brother Legolas." Elladan piped up.

"With such golden hair…..he could be Glorfindel's long-lost son!" Elrohir exclaimed.

Elladan rolled his eyes at his twin as Elrond stepped between his sons to stop their bickering. "You two, apologize to the crown prince."

Elladan and Elrohir straightened, bowing with sheepish expressions slapped on their faces. "Sorry Cel."

Celeberyn was a little occupied at the moment. Laughing.

He was crouched on the ground, still holding Legolas and laughing until tears fell from his eyes and his stomach hurt. Legolas didn't know what was happening, but laughed along with his brother since he seemed to be so happy. Thoronbel and the rest of the Mirkwood patrol all stood to the side trying to control the mirth in their own eyes.

"By the Valar , you two haven't changed at all since I saw you last! You're just like elflings!" Celeberyn managed to choke through his laughter.

Elrond coughed. "They still are." He corrected.

"Legolas!" Elrohir grinned, holding out his arms. "Want a hug?"

"No!" Legolas clung tighter to Celeberyn, refusing to leave him. "I'm not leaving Cel."

"Ha!" Elladan grinned at his twin. "Rejected."

"Be quiet, El!" Elrohir scowled.

"You two better quit it or I'll shove you back in the carriage!" Elrond warned.

The two twins wisely shut their mouths, grinning at Celeberyn and planning all the jokes and stories they'd tell their friend later, as Elrond smiled weakly at the crown prince. "I'm terribly sorry, Celeberyn and Legolas. Don't mind those two."

"No no, it's fine my lord." The crown prince smiled. His mirth slowly faded though, as he tilted his head in confusion. "If I may be so bold to ask, what are you doing here in Mirkwood?"

Now it was Elrond's turn to look puzzled. "Thranduil is expecting me. We've planned this for quite some time now, to discuss some matters as well as have our sons spend some time together. I'm sure he knows I'm here."

"Ooh yeah, can't wait to show Legolas all our cool tricks!" Elrond glared at Elrohir who quickly flashed a crooked grin and closed his mouth as his twin punched him in the shoulder.

Turning back to Celeberyn, the lord of Imladris frowned in worry. "I know something has recently happened to Mirkwood, but not the extent of the damage. On our way here, it seems the kingdom has recovered nicely. Can we go to the palace and see king Thranduil?"

"I…" Celeberyn's mouth went dry as he flashed worried glances with Thoronbel. Before he could reply, Legolas' eyes widened and he pounded on his brother's chest in fear.

"Cel! We have to go back right now! Ada!" The elfling cried.

"Shh yes, yes. We'll go back immediately." Celeberyn soothed, smiling weakly at Elrond who returned it with a concerned expression. He kissed Legolas' cheek and whispered, "Don't worry, little brother. Everything will be okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Has something happened to king Thranduil?" Elladan asked softly, eyes wide. He had never seen Celeberyn so afraid or broken before.

"My lord Elrond…..how much do you know of what happened?" Celeberyn asked.

Elrond opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a warrior suddenly crashed out of the trees, stumbling and collapsing face down on the ground near Celeberyn. The crown prince stepped back in alarm, then immediately crouched down by the elf.

"Mellon nin, are you alright?" _What a stupid question! _The warrior was obviously exhausted beyond compare, with sweat pouring down his face and ragged bandages covering his body, some of which were already stained dark red. But what really scared the crown prince was when he saw the warrior's face. Elfaron.

Legolas whimpered in fear and buried his face in Celeberyn's chest as his brother kissed the top of his head comfortingly. "It's okay green leaf. It'll be okay."

The crown prince gently laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to give him some of his strength. "What happened?" he asked gently, trying to hide his alarm and horror.

Elfaron dragged himself up to a kneeling position and bowed to his prince, nearly collapsing back to the ground of Celeberyn hadn't caught him. "No need! Please. Drop the formalities. Just tell me what happened."

"My….lord..Celeberyn….Legolas. Our patrol….attacked…we need..reinforcements….run…" Elfaron gasped. His face was smeared with dirt and blood, and the exhaustion and pain were so evident in his eyes that for the first time ever, Celeberyn was afraid his friend might die.

"Okay. Okay. Stay with me, El." Celeberyn said frantically. He looked up at Thoronbel, eyes wide in fear. "You have to go back to the palace."

"Understood." Thoronbel bowed and took off like an arrow back to the palace.

"Cel…what's happening?" Legolas whispered.

"Don't worry, little brother. Nothing bad will happen to you. I swear." Celeberyn replied, tightening his arms around his brother.

Elfaron grabbed Celeberyn's forearm, eyes wide in fear. "Run….the orcs said….more….coming….other direction…..danger….run!"

At that moment, Celeberyn picked up the sounds of orcs crashing and stomping through the forest, cursing himself for not noticing before. _They're too close! _

The crown prince turned frantically to Elrond, eyes huge. "My lord, I am terribly sorry. We….I –"

Elrond shook his head worriedly. "Don't apologize. We'll help you."

And then the orcs were upon them.

They suddenly crashed out of the forest like mushrooms overnight, except they weren't small and cute and definitely wouldn't taste good in a dish.

Celeberyn had no idea what he was going to do. Legolas started crying in his arms, terrified and clinging onto his brother for life. The crown prince kissed him and tried to soothe him even though inside he was freaking out.

_Valar! What am I doing to do?! _

The Mirkwood patrol swung into action, unsheathing their weapons and flying into battle. Because you gotta bring your knives to pick a few little flowers to heal the king, right? the afternoon air was immediately sliced with the sounds of clashing swords, cackling orcs, and cursing elves as blood splattered onto the forest floor.

The elves of Imladris also spurred their steeds on and joined the fight. Celeberyn couldn't tell how many orcs there were, since more just kept pouring in out of nowhere.

The crown prince pulled Elfaron to the side, desperately hoping that no orc would get to him. _I can't fight. Not with Legolas. _Celeberyn propped Elfaron against a tree and forced himself to grin.

"If you're getting sick of me, mellon nin, you could've thought of better ways to escape." He said, fighting the fear and pain in his heart.

Elfaron smiled back weakly. "Nah…I don't think I can ever…." The warrior's eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Cel…behind…you!"

Celeberyn sensed the sword descending on him, but he knew he couldn't turn around and risk having Legolas injured. So instead, the crown prince quickly unwound his brother's arms from his neck and shoved him over to Elfaron before the elfling could even register what was going on. Turning, Celeberyn grabbed the orc's forearm before he could slam his sword into his head and twisted it so the creature was forced to drop its weapon.

But he missed something.

He was still kneeling on the ground, and didn't see the orc's other hand swinging around with a dagger. Legolas screamed and started crying, reaching desperately for his brother. Elfaron winced and pulled the elfling towards him as his mind screamed at him to do something. Just before the weapon plunged into Celeberyn's neck, the creature suddenly stiffened and toppled to one side, crashing on the ground in a heap.

Celeberyn blinked in surprise, looking up. He was met with the piercing gray eyes of Elladan. The dark haired elf grinned. "Cel, you really are getting old." Celeberyn smirked as his friend added, "Well, you _were _born in the age before me…..don't worry, rest your old bones and let us take care of things."

Elladan laughed and dodged a playful punch to the face as he crouched down next to Elfaron worriedly. "We need healing supplies."

Legolas crawled away from Elfaron and dived into Celeberyn's arms, wailing with tears streaming down his face like silver rivers. "Cel Cel you said you will never let me go! You promised!"

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry little brother. I'm sorry. But I also promised to protect you. I won't let anything happen to you." The crown prince whispered, wiping the elfling's tears.

"Nothing can happen to you either." Legolas replied stubbornly, glaring at his brother.

"Alright. I'll try." Celeberyn smiled. "Don't worry." He kissed the elfling on the cheek then turned to Elfaron worriedly, glancing at Elladan.

"I'll take care of him." Elladan assured the prince. "Go back to the palace with Legolas." The elf found his twin somewhere among the chaotic battle and blinked at him. Apparently that one blink meant "go with Cel to protect Legolas back to the palace, and don't forget to tell Ada". _It's a twin thing, I guess_. Celeberyn thought.

Elrohir made his way over quickly, slicing the throats of any unfortunate orcs that were in his way. Even at such young ages, the two twin sons of Elrond were exceptional as both warriors and healers.

"Hey!" Elrohir grinned, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What this? The legendary Celeberyn Thranduilion needs our help? Why, he never requires aid!"

Celeberyn smirked. "That's because you often only make things worse." He stood up quickly, his smile fading. "We need to return as soon as possible."

Elrohir nodded seriously. "No problem. I swear nothing will happen to prince Legolas."

Before they could leave the battlefield, another sound rang through the air – a kind of growling and barking, with drool splattering on the ground.

Wargs.

_Valar no…._as long as there were wargs, they wouldn't be able to escape without horses. As Celeberyn watched, short black arrows suddenly came raining through the air. _Like it can't get any worse. They have crossbows, too? _The crown prince held Legolas closer who was shaking in fear. _Legolas…..I might not be able to keep my word….I don't know if we can escape alive. Where is Thoronbel? He should be back by now! _Celeberyn tried not to think of the possibilities of what might have happened to the captain.

The wargs came crashing through the trees, bearing even more disgusting orcs holding crossbows and swords. Celeberyn took one look at them, and immediately swung up into a tree with Legolas. He begged Elladan and Elrohir to take care of Elfaron, then focused his attention on his brother.

He ripped off his cloak and wrapped it around Legolas, looping it around the thick branch they were perched on and tying it off to prevent the elfling from falling. Legolas whimpered, clinging desperately to his brother. "Cel I'm scared. Cel don't leave. What about Ada? I want Ada! I promised I wouldn't leave him!" he wailed, chewing on Celeberyn's sleeve.

"Shhh, it's okay green leaf. It'll be okay. We'll be back with Ada soon, alright? We'll be with him soon. Don't worry. I'll protect you." Celeberyn shifted his position so he was holding Legolas and able to see the battle underneath him on the ground.

Orcs were _still_ pouring from the forest, and each elf was locked deep in battle. Dead bodies were quickly piling up, most of which belonged to the disgusting orcs, thankfully. But from what Celeberyn could see, two elves had fallen, causing the crown prince to clench his teeth in hate and rage. _You disgusting spawns of Mordor….I will see every last one of you dead! _

Suddenly, Thoronbel ran into the clearing, leading part of the Mirkwood army with Aredhel in front. Celeberyn almost dissolved in relief. _Hannon le. _The warriors spun gracefully into battle, slicing orc heads off and plunging knives into chests. Part of the group broke off to help the patrol Elfaron had come from, while the rest stayed.

Celeberyn drew his bow and an arrow from the quiver at his waist. He didn't want to kill anything in front of Legolas, but got his weapons ready just in case. "Don't look, little brother," he whispered to the elfling.

Legolas whimpered in fear, and as an attempt to distract him, the crown prince added, "You can play with my hair if you want."

The elfling immediately brightened. "Really? Okay!" Celeberyn sat in front of his brother, promising himself that he wouldn't regret this. It wasn't too bad, since Legolas decided to just tie it all up in a ponytail. He giggled and planted a kiss on his brother's cheek. "Hannon le Cel. I know you don't like me doing your hair."

Celeberyn smiled and held the elfling close. "If you like it, then so do I."

Then something went wrong.

Just as the crown prince shifted his position, an arrow streaked past him and sliced into the edge of Legolas' arm before thudding into the tree trunk.

The elfling immediately started crying in pain as Celeberyn's mouth dropped open in horror. He crouched over Legolas to shelter him as he yanked the arrow out of the tree, inspecting the tip. Poison.

Throwing the horrid weapon to the ground, Celeberyn grabbed his brother's little arm and started to extract the poison with his mouth. He spat out the dark liquid, watching it pool and sizzle on the tree branch.

Legolas cried, partly out of fear for what his brother was doing. "What are you doing? Why are you spitting black?"

"It's okay," Celeberyn replied painfully, feeling some of the poison entering his system. "It'll be okay. You'll be okay." Pretty soon he was no longer spitting black poison, and then proceeded to tie the elfling's cut with a piece of cloth torn from the cloak.

"Cel why are your hands shaking?"

Celeberyn smiled weakly at Legolas, feeling a strange numb feeling traveling through his body. "Don't worry little brother. You were very brave. We'll get to the palace soon, okay? Just hold on for a little while longer."

"But it hurts!" The elfling whimpered.

Celeberyn leaned forward and kissed the bandage gently. "There. Feel better?"

Legolas nodded, giggling a little.

"You're very brave, green leaf. You're going to grow up to be the best warrior ever!"

Suddenly, Celeberyn heard a cry to his left and he looked down to see Elladan grasp his side as blood spilled from between his fingers. _No! _Elrohir immediately ran over to his twin, shouting in fear. The crown prince felt like leaping down to help, but he tightened his arms around Legolas. _I will not leave him. _

But then something else occurred to Celeberyn. Elfaron. No one was defending him anymore. The crown prince leaned over the branch and found his friend still propped up against the trunk underneath, eyes open but barely responsive. _Valar help him, please…_

Suddenly, a searing pain stabbed into Celeberyn's back, pulling a gasp from his lips as his eyes widened in shock. Legolas whimpered at the strange expression on his brother's face, shaking his arm gently.

"Cel? Cel!"

Celeberyn stared back at Legolas as blood started dripping from his mouth, falling onto the tree branch like rain. The elfilng's eyes widened in terror as he started shaking his brother, confused and frightened. "Cel what's wrong? Cel! You promised nothing would happen to you! You promised! Let's go back to Ada now, okay? Come on!" the elfling tilted his head, forcing a smile. "And you look funny in a ponytail!"

Celeberyn smiled back, his vision blurring as his hands lost their strength and he felt himself slowly falling to the side. "No! Cel!" Legolas shrieked. "Don't leave don't leave!"

"L-L-L-Legolas….I'm…"

The crown prince dropped limply out of the tree with a large arrow protruding from his back and fell onto the ground in a heap, unmoving next to Elfaron. Legolas stared down at his brother, horrified.

Celeberyn forced himself up to his knees, pushing away the agony and increasing numb feeling in his body. _Legolas. I have to protect him. _

"Valar….Celeberyn!" The crown prince turned and was met with the terrified glance of Elfaron. "Are….you….alright?"

"Fine….mellon nin. Can you….take it out…?"

Elfaron's eyes widened. "I-I-I-if you….really….want to…." He dragged himself to his knees and wrapped a hand around the arrow shaft, bracing himself and yanking it out in one smooth motion. He then immediately ripped off a piece of his cloak and pressed it tightly to the wound, tying it securely with another strip. _Thank the Valar it wasn't barbed! _"Are….you….okay?"

After several moments, Celeberyn replied in a pained voice. "Aye. Hannon le."

Legolas chewed on his sleeve, tears streaming down his face as he looked down at this brother on the ground. "Cel," he whimpered. "Cel. Cel. Don't leave." He could see him moving, so he knew he was still alive. It didn't really make him feel better though.

The elfling's eyes landed on an especially big orc with a black bow that was aiming carefully at something. His brother. Celeberyn had stood up and was facing Elfaron, not knowing what was going to happen.

Legolas immediately remembered a conversation he had with Aredhel when they were still back at the hunting house.

"'_Red! 'Red! I recently started learning archery! I'm gonna be just as good as Ada!" _

"_I'm sure you will be, my lord!"_

"_Can I ask you something? What makes Ada the best warrior ever?" _

"_Well, he's a hero, right?"_

"_Yeah!"_

"_A hero always places others first. Your father doesn't care about his own safety, but instead cares about his people and his family. He's willing to sacrifice anything for them. Even if he's afraid, he does anything to protect them. That's what makes him the best warrior." _

Legolas was terrified. But even though he was afraid, he was going to protect his brother. He carefully shoved the herbs he'd picked for his father into his pocket to keep them safe. _Don't worry Ada. Don't be scared. You're going to be okay, and so is Cel. Wait for me! _

The orc pulled an arrow from its quiver, and the elfling's eyes widened as he started pulling at the cloak that tied him to the branch. He yanked at the knot, little fingers flying over the cloth as he pulled it free.

_Cel, since I love you, I'll do anything to protect you. Just like you protect me. Don't worry, big brother! Legolas is coming. _The elfling cast the cloak aside and scrambled to the edge of the branch just as the orc released its arrow.

Legolas stared down at his brother's shoulders, and jumped.

* * *

**Cliffy? Sorry guys! Don't kill me...**

**Okay now I REALLY have NO idea where I'm going...**

**Oh yeah, and the basic concept of orc attack and Legolas saving Cel is bettsam0731's idea for plot twist, so you can go thank them *laughs*. Although the Imladris elves were pretty unexpected...my plot bunny randomly decided to add them**

**Elrond: *sighs* why are you dragging me into this?**

**Elladan: What are you talking about, Ada? This is fun!**

**Elrohir: Yeah! WE get to show how cool we are...**

**Eh guys I don't really know why they're here...hope it's not ruining anything ^_^**

**Oh and I actually have a twin brother ^_^ we're not real pranksters, but we DO communicate in strange ways...however he likes dwarves better...*shakes head* he's missing out! **

**Thank you for reading!**


	11. Hope

**Okay guys...so sorry for the last cliffy, but I got this chapter up fast, so all's good, right? **

**HUGE thank you for all your guys' support! You amaze me! I can't believe so many of you like this story... *tears of joy* T^T**

**Me: haha it _would_ be super angsty if Legolas got hit...but true, people like seeing their fav people get injured for some reason... *laughs* So glad you enjoyed that chapter though! good news...the update's here! I promise it's a happy ending ^_^**

**Guest: ooo sorry for the cliffy heh I can't help it *hides* I'm gonna keep going and going...and I hope you like it!**

**So the chapter isn't actually that long this time! *cheers* **

**Again, credit for the idea of "orc attack and Legolas saving Cel" goes to bettsam0731. Thanks! **

**Disclaimer: *sighs* still don't own anything... T^T**

**Enjoy!**

**Note: The part in italics in the story is a flashback**

* * *

Celeberyn was standing. That was a plus. He hadn't passed out yet. Another plus. Legolas was safe. A third plus. He felt ready to collapse. That one was a minus. His vision was tinged with black. Another minus. And the pain was so great every move made him want to scream. A really big minus.

The crown prince clenched his teeth and smiled at Elfaron, trying to breathe. His friend smiled back weakly, but his strength was failing fast. If he didn't get help soon…..Celeberyn suddenly felt torn like a piece of paper already ripped into a million itty bitty pieces. _I can't leave Elfaron alone! But I'm definitely not letting anything happen to Legolas! I have to get back to him….._

Before Celeberyn could have a split second debate with himself, he suddenly watched as his cloak drifted out of the tree and fell to the ground next to Elfaron. His cloak. The one that tied Legolas to the branch to keep him safe. _No…Valar no! _

His head whipped up just as he saw Legolas jump down towards him like a shooting star or a little acorn dropping from a tree. The elfling crashed down on his brother, throwing both of them to the ground so Legolas was sitting firmly on Celeberyn's chest.

There was only one reason the elfling would do this.

Celeberyn watched in utter horror as a black arrow streaked towards Legolas' face.

_NO! _

* * *

Elrohir whipped around when he heard Elladan's cry of pain. Immediately locating his twin, the elf ran towards him, slicing the throats of any orc who dared cross his path. He crouched down next to his brother who was wincing and holding his side as blood spilled onto the forest floor.

"El!"

"I'm fine. Totally okay."

"Uh-huh. Sure. I can see you wanna start bawling since your left pinky's twitching." Elrohir pushed his fear away and inspected Elladan's injury, feeling relief flood his veins. "Not bad. You'll live."

Elladan sighed. "Of course I will! I haven't gotten bored of you _yet_."

Elrohir grinned and wrapped the cut tightly with bandages. "Sorry, can't do much about it until we get proper supplies." As the elf knotted the cloth, he heard a hard thud followed by pained voices.

Turning, Elrohir saw Celeberyn kneeling on the ground with Elfaron wrapping the prince's back with a strip of cloth, and a bloody arrow lying next to them. Didn't take long to figure out what happened. The crown prince stood as Elrohir turned towards his twin. "El –"

"Come on!"

Just as the two sons of Elrond got up and started hurrying over to their friend, a cold chill ran down Elladan's spine. His eyes traveled along the battlefield, landing on an orc with a bow which was aimed at Celeberyn. The elf watched in horror as the arrow left the string as if in slow motion. He smacked Elrohir, who immediately understood and drew his own bow.

When they thought nothing else could go wrong, an elfling suddenly dropped from the tree above Celeberyn, knocking him to the ground. _Legolas you stupid, brave little elfling! _Elrohir wanted to scream, watching as the orc arrow flew towards his face.

Elrohir whipped out an arrow from his quiver and shot it in a split second, barely allowing himself time to think. The weapon flew true and pierced the orc arrow mere inches from the elfling, knocking it away.

The twins stood still for a moment, trying to calm their pounding hearts. _That was too close. Too close._

* * *

"My lord, it's going to be fine! Prince Celeberyn and prince Legolas will be perfectly okay, I swear!"

Thranduil stared at them in horror, panting as if he'd just run two hundred miles nonstop. "Why…..did….you let…them go?!" he forced through clenched teeth.

A few moments ago, the king had awoken and asked where his sons were. "They have gone to pick herbs and now are being attacked by orcs" was not the answer he expected, and he didn't like it one bit.

"I'm sorry my lord. We didn't know this would happen. They went out into the forest to get some herbs we needed, and then…..I'm sure they'll be find, my lord. Thoronbel brought the best warriors…." The healer trailed off as Thranduil's furious expression faded only to be replaced by terrible fear.

"Let me go…..please," the king whispered brokenly. "Please."

The healer couldn't bear to refuse Thranduil, but he knew he must. "My lord….I'm sorry. Truly. But you're simply not well enough to move."

Thranduil wanted to scream and cry, but he merely replied, "Then can you….go and make sure….they don't get hurt?"

"Yes of course my lord." The healer bowed but hesitated before he left the room. "My king….my princes will be fine, I swear. Just…focus on recovering."

"Hannon le." Thranduil answered, revealing none of his swirling emotions. After the healer left and the door closed soundlessly, the king allowed himself to fall apart. _Valar, is this what you give me in return of all the pain I've already suffered? Where is the hope in such darkness? How can we survive when we are constantly attacked by such pain? _

"Why?" he murmured into the empty room, his heart constricting in fear and horror. "Why?" _Is 'Thranduilion' a cursed name? Has hope completely abandoned Mirkwood? _"Just spare my sons, I beg you! Just….spare them."

* * *

The Last Alliance

_Prince Thranduil stood next to his father King Oropher, trying to swallow back his fear - he had never seen so many orcs before in his life. His armor suddenly felt like tissue paper and his sword like jelly. He stared at the mass of darkness advancing towards them, wondering how they would ever emerge victorious._

_Thranduil felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and was met with the warm gaze of his father. "Thran, it's okay to be afraid." _

"_Ada…how will we ever win?" _

"_There is always hope. Always. And as long as there is hope, there is victory." _

"_But I don't see any hope." _

"_**You**_ _are hope, ion nin. Cel, that mischievous little elfling of yours, is also hope. And so will be all your future children. We fight for them. We live for them. And we die for them, to protect Tomorrow. For Light will always conquer Darkness in the end." _

_Right before the elves attacked, before light and darkness clashed, Thranduil heard his father mutter, "Spare my son, I beg you. Just spare him." _

_And from that moment on, the prince of Greenwood understood. He understood the utter love a father had for his children. He understood that he would also feel pain when his son Celeberyn grew up and started fighting. But he also realized something else. The greatest sacrifice he could ever give is to let his son go when danger was inevitable. _

_And so Thranduil decided that if he were to have a second son, his name would be Legolas. Green leaf. Hope. Hope that one day peace would once again conquer. Hope for Tomorrow. _

"_Spare them." _

_As long as they exist, hope will endure._

* * *

Celeberyn stared up at Legolas, horrified. _He almost died. IN YOUR ARMS! _He screamed at himself. _What kind of brother are you?! You almost let him die! For __**you**__!_

"Cel?" Legolas whimpered, afraid that something else had happened to his brother. "Cel!"

Celeberyn reached up and pulled the elfling down, hugging him tightly as tears started streaming down his face. "Idiot." He whispered. "Don't you dare do that again, okay? Don't you dare."

"Why are you crying, Cel?" Legolas replied in fear, wiping his brother's tears away. "It's okay now, I promise. I'll protect you!"

"No Legolas, don't ever risk your life for me, hear that? Never."

"But-"

"No. To the day we sail for Valinor, you will never risk your life for me."

"Why?"

"Because it makes me sad."

Legolas' blue eyes widened. "No don't be sad Cel! I won't do it again!"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Oh Legolas…" Celeberyn sat up painfully and held the elfling close, trying hard to ignore the pain in his back and his strange blurry vision. He sat back against the tree next to Elfaron, laying his sword near him in case any orcs were stupid enough to approach.

A moment later Elladan and Elrohir appeared next to the crown prince worriedly, laying their weapons aside and crouching down in front of him. "Alright Cel, tell us every single injury you have. No exceptions!"

"Hannon le….for saving Legolas. Hannon le."

"Never mind that. Where are you injured?"

"Help Legolas first. He got cut by an arrow that was poisoned, but I-"

Elladan glared at the prince. "You extracted the poison with your mouth, didn't you?"

Celeberyn grinned weakly as the pain in his body suddenly shot up, turning his smile into more of a wince. His head started spinning and his vision grew dark no matter how much he screamed at himself. But he plastered another smile on his face as Elrohir started working on Legolas, and Elladan knelt by Elfaron who was now limp as a cloth doll.

The battle raged on around the elves but they didn't really care, only occasionally slicing the throat of an orc without the need to look or think. Celeberyn talked constantly to Legolas to distract him from the terrible sounds ringing in the air and blood splattering on the ground.

"Tell me a story!" Legolas grinned, bouncing in his brother's lap.

"Story…." The crown prince saw the world spinning around him like a carriage wheel as he tried to think of something for the elfling. His vision was darkening… "Story…"

Legolas' smile faded as he saw his brother close his eyes, his hand dropping from the elfling's shoulder. "Cel! Cel!"

Elrohir cursed and finished tying off the bandage he was applying for Legolas, then knelt next to the crown prince. Legolas suddenly started feeling really dizzy and his vision blurred as his body lanced with pain. Elladan watched as blood dribbled from the elfling's mouth, falling to the ground like tears. _Valar! _The twin thought in horror. _Legolas still has some poison in his system! _

He lunged over to the little prince and cradled him in his arms as he started frantically digging in a little pouch at his waist, looking for the proper supplies.

_Spare them._

* * *

Thoronbel stood in the middle of the battlefield as silence settled over the forest. Dead orcs littered the ground, heaped in piles with random heads here and there. Disgusting. He stuck his sword in the grass as he surveyed the damage.

No elf had died, but many sustained heavy injuries. The air was thick with the scent of blood, both elven and orc. The warriors that could still walk wandered around, tending to their comrades and piling up carcasses to dispose of. The captain walked over to Elrond, who was cleaning his blade with a piece of cloth.

"My lord Elrond," he bowed. "We thank you deeply for your help, and apologize for…..all this." He smiled. "Not exactly what you expected, is it?"

Elrond grinned. "Well, no. I never expected to be welcomed into Mirkwood in such a manner. But it's my pleasure to be of aid to Thranduil."

"Ada!"

Elrond turned in alarm as Elladan beckoned him over frantically from his position next to a few warriors. The lord of Imladris hurried over quickly and knelt next to his son who shot him a worried glance.

"Cel was indirectly poisoned and shot, while Legolas was cut in the arm. Some poison also lingers in his wound." Elrohir explained.

Elrond looked over Legolas first, fearing that his little elfling body wouldn't be able to take much. "We need to get them back to the palace," he instructed.

Elladan immediately jumped up to tell to Thoronbel, while Elrond scooped up Celeberyn in his arms and Elrohir cradled Legolas. The young elf grinned and poked the elfling's cheek. "Legolas. I can't wait to teach you all our pranks. But look at you – already getting injured at such a young age! I've never seen such a brave little elfling…..you will make your Ada proud."

* * *

**Several days later**

Thranduil kissed the cheek of Legolas who was sleeping soundly in his arms. Celeberyn was lying on a bed pushed directly up against Thranduil's, his head resting on his father's shoulder. Several days ago the two princes were brought to the king all healed and bandaged up nicely with many strips of cloth. This horrified Thranduil, but the healers quickly assured him that Elrond had determined they were doing perfectly fine.

"Oh yeah, Ada, the twins send their well wishes." Celeberyn whispered, careful not to disturb his brother. "And they wonder if they're allowed to climb the pillars in the halls."

Thranduil snorted. "If they break their necks, it's not my responsibility. Although then Elrond would personally kill them, and I don't want death in my palace."

The crown prince grinned. "I'll let them know."

Thranduil had arranged for the lord of Imladris to be given guest rooms and treated with high honor, as well as his twin sons. He couldn't have visitors come to him yet, for the healers feared that they might trigger a flashback.

The king heard that the guests were enjoying their stay, though. Especially Elladan and Elrohir who were fascinated and awed by everything they came across, including the forks they used during mealtimes.

Legolas stirred and yawned, blinking up at his father as a grin spread on his face. "Ada!" the elfling squealed, as if they hadn't seen each other for a while, when in fact he only feel asleep a couple hours ago.

"Legolas!" Thranduil replied, smiling.

The king had also been improving greatly in the last several days, throwing the entire kingdom into a mushy puddle of relief. The palace was busy once again, with elves running here and there, delivering food, clothing, papers, and the occasional elfling. Council meetings started being held on a normal schedule again, with Celeberyn usually leading them. After consulting Thranduil first, of course.

Music and singing could be heard, as laughter once again radiated through the halls of Thranduil. The healers claimed that at the rate of their king's recovery, he should be able to return to normal completely. Except for his scars.

"How are you feeling, green leaf?" Thranduil asked, tapping the elfling on the nose. "Better?" his right eye had thankfully mostly cleared up so he could see alright, although it was still a little blurry.

"Yeah!" Legolas giggled. "All better!"

A soft knock sounded at the door, and a healer entered quietly, smiling at the royal family. "My lords, I must change my king's bandages."

"Alright, come here Legolas." Celeberyn scooped the elfling in his arms and scooted over to his bed. The healer set his supplies down on the table and pulled a thick curtain across, separating the two beds.

After the two princes had returned safely several days ago, the healers refused to separate them from their father ever again. So they attached a long curtain to the ceiling, and when it came time to change his bandages they pulled it across so Legolas couldn't see, but was still next to Thranduil. This actually worked quite well.

"Cel when can we stop using this?" Legolas asked, pulling on the curtain.

"Well…..maybe sometime, but we use it so you won't be scared, right?"

"I won't be scared, I promise! Ada's not scary!"

"No, he isn't." Celeberyn agreed. "But dragons are, and we don't want you to see anything bad."

The healer quickly finished and pulled the curtain away as Legolas sailed back to Thranduil, plopping in his lap as if they'd been separated far longer then two minutes. After the healer left, Nenuial arrived, grinning and balancing a tray stacked high with food.

"Guess what?" She beamed excitedly. "Thranduil is allowed to eat solid food today!" Although she was merely the royal cook, Nenuial meant a lot more to the king then just that. After his wife passed, she acted like a mother to the two princes, and kept Thranduil on his feet. She was the only one who could speak to the royals as casual as a family member might.

"Yayyy!" Legolas clapped, "Ada no longer has to eat mush!"

Celeberyn took the tray carefully, eyes widening at the delicious dishes piled on. "Wow! He gets all of these?"

"Nuh-uh! He's not allowed to any of that."

Thranduil looked at her with an elfling pout as she grinned. "Ta-da!" She whipped out a little loaf of bread from her apron pocket and presented it like a chest of mithril. "Look at this, Thranduil! You get this entire loaf of plain bread!"

The king burst out laughing as Nenuial grinned. "The healers say you can't have anything too complicated," she explained. "Stomach's not used to it and all that."

"Well hannon le, Nenuial." Thranduil managed to say after he'd caught his breath.

"Don't thank me! Don't worry, you'll probably be able to eat real food soon…..I'll keep pestering the healers until they agree." She winked and left the room.

"Okay Ada!" Legolas giggled, taking the bread. "Say 'Ahhhh'."

"Ahhhhh."

The elfling pulled off a little chunk of bread and popped it in his father' mouth. "Is it good? Is it good?"

"Mmmmm! Delicious!" Thranduil replied, chewing with exaggeration. "Delicious!"

"Really?" Legolas took a bite, eating it thoughtfully. "No Ada, it's just normal bread." He corrected. "Maybe you've just had too much mush in the past few days."

"That's probably it." The king laughed.

Legolas fed his father another bit of bread as he leaned over to his brother. "Cel," he whispered loudly. "Can't we give Ada just a little bit of food? Like what about that yummy stew? Or the mushrooms…."

Celeberyn grinned. "Fine by me. The healers didn't say Ada wasn't allowed to eat, they just prefer him not to…..oh well! That's okay! Here Ada." The crown prince picked up a stuffed mushroom and tossed it into his father's mouth. He then handed the bowl of stew to Legolas, who gave his brother the bread excitedly.  
"Yay you can eat normal things now!" The elfling giggled. "But don't tell the healers, okay? They might not understand."

Thranduil laughed. "Promise." Legolas beamed and shoveled a huge spoonful of stew into his father's mouth. It was way too much and the king's cheeks bulged like a chipmunk as he tried to eat it without dribbling all over his son.

Legolas laughed, and Celeberyn started tearing the bread into little pieces and dropping them into the stew. "Okay Ada," The crown prince smiled. "We're going to play a game. You have to tell us which piece of bread you want to eat. Describe where it is."

The healers told the princes to do simple exercises like these to help the king regain his speaking skills. He'd already massively improved, but sometimes still found it difficult to say what he wanted.

"Hmm…I want that one." Thranduil said.

"Can you describe it's position relative to the other bread pieces?" Celeberyn asked, feeling quite silly.

"Yes. It's the piece that's going to land on your nose!" the king flicked his finger and sent the soggy bread piece flying through the air. Celeberyn dodged, watching it plop on the bedsheet.

The crown prince grinned. "I see how it is, Ada."

Thranduil smiled. "Forget the healers. Who's up for a round of 'Mirkwood versus orcs'?"

Legolas squealed, "Ooh me! Me! I'm on Ada's team!"

Celeberyn looked at his brother with a mock pout. "Green leaf, you don't like your brother anymore?"

"Don't be sad Cel!" Legolas beamed, kissing him on the cheek. "I love you! But Ada always loses so he needs my help!"

Thranduil burst out laughing. "Oh I see. Alright. Well I gladly accept your help Legolas."

The king watched as the princes started arranging the battlefield and creating the two armies excitedly, as if this was the best thing they ever got to do. _Hannon le. For sparing them. _Thranduil smiled at Legolas, who grinned back at him and planted a kiss on his cheek, his clear blue eyes shining.

_Adar….you were right. There is always hope._

* * *

**Not bad, right? No elfling injury, as you can see ^_^'**

**bettsam0731: Thank you so much for your plot twist idea! But I'm sorry I had to take away the "Legolas gets injured" part. ^_^ I was afraid I might get killed. *laughs***

**This chapter was actually really hard to write for some reason...took me a long time *laughs* **

**Ellladan and Elrohir will show up a little more in the next chapter in case you're wondering, but their roles are mostly over...I have no idea why I even added them in...I don't know. I blame my plot bunny!**

**Okay guys...two more chapters and WE'RE DONE! Are you guys relieved? *laughs* Just two more...hang in there! Thank you so so so much!**

**Thank you for taking the time to read! **

**#durinsday**


	12. Unexpected

**Okay guys, so here's the second-to-last chapter! Well it' technically the last, since the next chapter will be the epilogue. **

**I cannot express how much I appreciate all you guys' support! Thank you all so, so much! ^O^ thank you for reviewing, faving, following, and supporting me through this crazy story! I love you all! ^_^**

**Guest: heh I'm glad you would have supported me if I did end up injuring poor Legolas...as for writing another version/chapter...I'm probably going to have no time, but I can consider if enough people want a version where the elfling does end up injured ^_^ **

**Me: Yayyy! So glad you liked my cute stuff in the last chapter! Oh yeah, can be confusing sometimes ^_^ I totes understand. Thank you so so much for every single one of your reviews! I don't know if you're reading this, but I really would like to thank you. Hannon le, mellon nin! **

**WoodElfJedi: heehee I'm glad you've liked this story so much, but personally I'm relieved it's ending...*laughs* I got WAY too carried away with it...thank you so much for all your support through everything! I'm glad that Thranduil's healing too, and I'm glad that he's healing so fast... ^_^ or we'll just get a bunch of boring chapters, yeah? *laughs* er, I don't know what WB means... but I'm sure it's something good, *laughs* **

**This chapter is also fortunately kind of short...if you count this as short *laughs* **

**Disclaimer: Last I checked, I still don't own anything... *cries* **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_You mend what once was shattered_

_And you turn my tears to laughter_

_~ "Shoulders" by For King and Country_

* * *

**A few days later**

"And then they went 'poof!' and disappeared!"

"What? Disappear?"

"Yep! Vanished into thin air!"

"Where did they go?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow!"

"Awww….." Legolas looked at Elladan with a pout, who fixed a look of resolve on his face.

"Nope," he replied. "Not going to fall for your cute little face. Nuh-uh." He wavered a little as the elfling's face fell like a crushed blade of grass. Turning to Celeberyn, the young Imladris elf asked, "Cel, Legolas gets away with everything, doesn't he?"

Celeberyn laughed. "Not quite…..but he often comes close."

Elrohir grinned. "Legolas, when you get older you're going to come to Imladris all the time and we'll go on all sorts of adventures…..and I'm sure you'll be able to get us out of all those tight situations we end up in!"

Legolas wrapped his arms around Thranduil's neck, frowning. "No I'm never going to leave Ada, ever."

The royal family was still strictly confined to bed, where they were buried in mountains of pillows and laughter. The healers had started allowing some visitors to see Thranduil, but before anyone could reserve their spots, the two Imladris twins had beaten all the Mirkwood elves.

Elladan and Elrohir had pulled up chairs next to the beds and started entertaining little Legolas by telling him ridiculous stories that may or may not have been true. With the twins, it was always hard to tell.

The door to the healing room suddenly burst open and Nenuial marched in, holding two trays nearly toppling with towers of food. "Alright you two," she declared to Elladan and Elrohir, "Time for you to go climb the pillars in the halls. Go on!"

The twins flashed a grin to the royal family and obediently stood up to leave the room. Nenuial reminded them an awful lot of their own mother, and if the two elleths' temper were similar in any way, then they'd better go quick or the consequences could be devastating.

Thranduil smiled as the cook held up her trays of food, but then suddenly he wasn't looking at Nenuial anymore, but rather Aredhel. And he wasn't holding trays. He was holding Legolas. Thranduil watched as the warrior turned and disappeared into the forest accompanied by a few others who were all heavily armed. Celeberyn turned towards him with tears streaming down his face, and the king wanted to comfort him if his own heart wasn't also shattered like glass on the ground.

Thranduil suddenly heard a massive roar behind him, and turned to see a giant serpent open its jaws, white hot flames building in the back of its throat. The king shoved Celeberyn away just as the fire streamed out of the dragon's mouth, wrapping around the left side of his body and licking dangerously at his skin.

Thranduil felt the lightning quick flashes of unbearable agony, saw his vision go dark, and felt himself drop to the ground like a stone. He lifted his hand to stare in horror at the skin burned black, beyond repair.

He saw Celeberyn coughing blood, wounded and gasping in pain. He heard the healers say he was fading.

The king then saw Argeleb kneeling before him, sobbing as if the world was about to come crashing down. Thranduil stared at the warrior in disbelief as he whimpered something about Legolas….he was dead. Dead!

Thranduil gasped at the pain in his chest, sure that there must be some sort of weapon stabbed into his heart. His breath started coming quicker and quicker as his vision blurred and darkened. All sound dimmed until he could only hear is own gasping, as a cold sweat started dripping down his neck. Legolas. All the pain and horror came crashing down like an avalanche of rocks, determined to kill Thranduil. He could only see darkness. Darkness. The entire left side of his body was scarred for eternity. His sons were gone. There was nothing more in this life for him. Nothing.

The king suddenly felt someone shaking his shoulder. A little voice pierced through the thick silence and rang in his ear like twinkling bells.

"Ada, it's okay, it's not real! It's not real! We're here!"

Not real…..not real. Thranduil's eyes widened as he saw the images waver slightly like the reflection in a river. Not real. Argeleb was not here. Legolas is not dead. And yet the pain still refused to leave the king. _It's not real, it's not real, it's not real! They're just memories. Just memories. Legolas is alive. Cel is fine. _

"Ada, don't be scared, we won't let anything bad happen to you!"

Thranduil found himself suddenly sitting on a bed, with Legolas and Celeberyn staring worriedly up at him. His breathing gradually started to slow when he realized it truly was merely a flashback. The king managed a weak smile at his sons, holding them close as he forced himself to calm down.

After a few moments, Thranduil looked up at Nenuial apologetically. "I'm sorry about this, Nenuial. Hannon le."

The cook smiled, shaking her head. "Nope. Don't apologize, Thranduil. Never apologize for anything." She held up the food, grinning slightly. "Now who's hungry?"

A knock sounded at the door, and a moment later it slowly opened to reveal Elrond. The dark haired elf smiled as Nenuial set the food down on a nearby table and left with a bow, flashing him a grin.

"You're nearly completely healed!" Elrond informed the royal family brightly after the door had closed with a soft click. "I'm just going to take one last look at your burns."

"Hannon le, mellon nin." Thranduil replied. His blue eyes revealed a streak of desperation that he stubbornly tried to cover as he added, "Are you sure you can't do anything about….the scars?"

Elrond shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. They're just too deep. Believe me, mellon nin. If I could, I would."

The elvenking smiled weakly to the elf and gestured for him to continue. The lord of Imladris pulled up a chair on the other side of Thranduil's bed and reached up to draw the curtain across so the princes wouldn't see their father's scars.

Celeberyn scooped up Legolas in his arms and moved over onto his own bed to allow the curtain to separate them from Thranduil. Elrond always worked quietly, and this time the silence seemed to drag on, unnerving Legolas. He squirmed in his brother's lap, wanting to see his father.

"It looks pretty good. The skin here has all healed nicely. I'm sure - "

Legolas brightened upon hearing Elrond's quiet words, and without thinking, he yanked the curtain aside. The lord must mean that his father was all better, right? He should be able to see him now. Celeberyn yelped in surprise and tried to pull the elfling back as Thranduil and Elrond turned to him, eyes wide. The lord of Imladris had unwrapped the bandages on the left side of Thranduil's face, and Legolas froze at what he saw.

The scars.

Legolas had never seen anything like them in his life. His blue eyes grew huge with fear and his words died in his throat as he stared in horror at his father. Thranduil's left cheek appeared hollow but covered with twisted skin that was seared red or pinkish like blood. It was as if something had clawed out the left side of his face and replaced it with scraps that fused together. There was also something else.

The king's left eye. All that remained was a milky whiteness that was also deformed, like a broken egg.

Legolas scooted back on the bed, terrified beyond imagine. What had happened to his father? What was wrong with the left side of his face? Was there something possessing him? Maybe this actually wasn't Thranduil. But then where was his father?

The elfling whimpered, horrified but unable to wrench his eyes away.

"Legolas…." Thranduil choked, paralyzed in alarm. He had never wanted his son to see his scars. Never. Especially not now, not when he was still so young…Whenever he looked at his own skin he was disgusted. How would it affect an elfling?

The king wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

Elrond paused, uncertain on what to do. Before he could say anything to comfort the little prince, Legolas reached a shaky hand towards his father.

"Ada?" the elfling whispered. "Is it real?"

"Yes," Thranduil replied painfully. "Yes."

"Oh." Legolas climbed into his father's lap, surprising him greatly. After a moment the little prince hesitated and smiled as he stared up at the scar. "Does it hurt?"

"No, little green leaf. Not anymore."

"It's okay," Legolas brushed Thranduil's left cheek with his little hand. He then leaned up and kissed the scar, giggling. "It's beautiful, Ada!"

Thranduil stared down at his son in disbelief and joy, wrapping an arm around the elfling to hug him close. "Hannon le, ion nin," he whispered brokenly. "Hannon le." To hear those words….from an elfling, no less! The king could hardly bring _himself_ to look at his own scars. They were only painful reminders of the horror he'd experienced, and how the entire kingdom of Mirkwood nearly fell to the hands of darkness.

He was afraid Legolas would cry, run, or reel. And he wouldn't blame him.

But instead, the elfling had accepted his scars. He didn't just brush them away, he claimed they were beautiful.

Thranduil saw the elfling blur in front of his right eye as tears stubbornly surfaced and started streaking down his face. Legolas' bright blue eyes widened in alarm as he said, "Ada, don't be sad, it's okay! Are you afraid people will make fun of your scars? Don't worry, I won't allow that to happen." The elfling assured the king confidently.

"Oh my dear little leaf," Thranduil whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around his son. "Hannon le. Hannon le. What would I do without you?"

Legolas pulled back, alarmed. "Without me? No no, I promised I'd never leave, and I never break my promises! That's what Cel always says. I'll always be with you, Ada. I promise."

* * *

"How do you feel back in your robes?" Elrond grinned, watching as Thranduil stood up slowly from the bed. He had been dressed back in the clothes of a king, which consisted of layered thick robes that seemed to weigh a ton and shimmered like stars.

The king raised his arms slightly, feeling like an oliphaunt were sitting on his shoulders. "Were they always so heavy? I can barely lift my arms," he complained.

"Your body is still a little weak, but don't worry, you'll regain all your original strength soon. Your speech as also greatly improved. Frankly, I'm impressed with the speed of your healing. Most elves would have taken much longer." Elrond noted.

Thranduil smiled as Legolas squealed and sailed into his arms. "Ada Ada you look super cool! Better then you ever did!" The elfling beamed, kissing his father's scarred left cheek.

Thranduil's right eye had completely cleared up, but his left one was completely blind and the king desperately hated the darkness that took its place. He found himself constantly having to turn his head when wanting to see something on his left. How can a king be blind on one side? How would he ever fight again? Thranduil constantly cursed his useless eye and wished that some miracle would return his sight to him, though he knew it was impossible.

"Ada," Legolas pouted, wrapping his arms around Thranduil's neck. "Are you worrying about your left eye again?" the elfling's face brightened as he turned to his brother. "I know! Me and Cel can be your left eye! We'll tell you what happens on the left side!" he beamed at his father, proud of his idea.

Celeberyn laughed as the elfling looked at him for support. "Yes, Legolas. Sounds like a good plan! Let's do it!"

"See?" Legolas grinned at Thranduil. "Even Cel agrees!"

"Alright little leaf," Thranduil laughed. "Since Cel agreed. It's a deal!"

The king sat back down on the bed and looked down at his scarred hand. He murmured a few words that washed over him like water over rocks, willing a thin layer of magic to swirl over his skin and cover the ugly scars. Thranduil felt the magic travel up his arm, his chest, and his face, ultimately creating an illusion that his skin was perfectly normal. He looked up and Celeberyn nodded, confirming the magic's ability.

"It covers your face completely, even your left eye. No one would be able to tell."

At that moment a healer entered the room, his heart swelling with pride upon seeing his king once again standing tall dressed in kingly robes, his spirit fanned back into a strong flame. He bowed to the royal family and Elrond, pausing to the latter and offering him a small smile. "Lord Elrond, your sons lord Elladan and lord Elrohir….."

Elrond sighed, dreading the healer's words. "Go on, you won't offend me." The lord of Imladris had asked the Mirkwood elves to inform him of any problems his sons may cause in the palace, no matter how big or small.

"They have accidentally…..thrown the entire kitchen into chaos…"

"What?" Elrond stared at him, mouth open in disbelief. How did that even happen? He decided that he didn't want to know. The elf sighed and bowed slightly to Thranduil. "I apologize. Stay here for a little while as I go talk to those twins of mine."

The elvenking nodded, grinning. "They're a handful, aren't they?"

"You have no idea."

After Elrond left and closed the door with a soft click, Thranduil turned to his sons with an elfling-like grin. "Orders say I have to stay…."

"Let's go!" Celeberyn grinned, flinging the door wide open.

"Be careful, Ada!" Legolas noted, jumping up and down.

Elrond had allowed Thranduil to start walking a little in the last few days, though he probably wouldn't have approved of the king taking a long stroll through the palace. He was still a little weak, and the lord of Imladris didn't want him to tire himself too much.

Thranduil stood up and slowly left the room with Celeberyn and Legolas, trying to focus on placing one foot in front of the other. After lying on a bed for such a long time, the king's legs seemed to embarrassingly have forgotten how to walk properly. It was slightly humiliating, but Thranduil knew his sons would only ever support him.

"Where do you want to go, Ada?" Legolas asked excitedly, his eyes shining.

"Repair has finished in every room of the palace," Celeberyn added. "The options are endless."

"The throne room." Thranduil immediately replied.

"Good choice!" Celeberyn responded dramatically, sweeping his hand in the air. "The throne room it is!"

Legolas giggled and bounced along brightly, holding Thranduil's hand and pointing out sections of the palace that had improved from the repairs and become even more beautiful then they previously were.

After a while, much longer then Thranduil would have liked, the royal family finally stopped in front of the massive double doors of the throne room.

All along the halls, the Mirkwood elves rejoiced upon seeing their king completely recovered, and their excitement levels rose as if the palace was suddenly swarming with elflings.

Thranduil pushed open the giant doors slowly, watching as they swung inward, revealing the heart of the palace.

The Mirkwood council had been sitting at a long table deep in discussion, but when their king entered, they immediately rose in awe and surprise, bowing low before Thranduil who quickly waved them back up.

"My king!" Thoronbel was grinning from ear to ear, feeling like he might burst from joy. The healers hadn't allowed him to see Thranduil at all, for fear of triggering a flashback, so he was overjoyed to see his king in such good condition.

Thranduil shook his head when he saw the piles of documents and papers stacked on the table, and the tired expressions in his council members' eyes. "What are you doing?"

Thoronbel cocked his head in slight confusion. "My lord, we have been discussing some matters involving our trade…..I am sorry, I know we should have waited for you, but Esgaroth claimed it was urgent…." He quickly apologized when he saw the frown on his king's face. "We were wrong. We are terribly sorry and swear not to do this again."

Thranduil broke into a smile, shaking his head. "No, I would like to know why you are all doing this when you _should_ be relaxing….in fact I command you to stop immediately. I don't feel like dealing with any issues right now, and Esgaroth can wait. I have decided that we are going to have a celebration."

"Yay!" Legolas squealed and jumped into his father's arms in excitement. "Make a super big feast!"

"Don't worry, little leaf, it will be the biggest feast you've ever seen!" Thranduil grinned.

Thoronbel beamed, adding, "Would you like me to inform Nenuial?"

"Oh yes. She's going to be furious that it's such a short notice, though….make sure to find her some help if she needs it."

"I know, Ada!" Legolas giggled. "You can help!"

Thranduil laughed. "I don't know, green leaf. Your Ada's not that great at cooking. I'll just get in the way. Instead, how about you, me, and Cel go for a walk around the palace? Just don't tell lord Elrond."

"Yeah!" The elfling agreed excitedly. "Let's go!"

Celeberyn grinned at his father. "Hannon le, Ada. You have successfully made up for my birthday present."

"Oh yeah!" Legolas looked up at his brother, eyes wide. "We didn't celebrate!"

Thranduil kissed both his sons on the cheek. "Then we'll do it today! Sound good?"

"Definitely!" Celeberyn agreed. "Although, if you and Legolas ever give me a terrible present again, I will never forgive either of you."

"It's a deal!" the king replied, smiling. "Today will be a day of celebration. For Mirkwood's prince, her survival, and her undefeatable spirit, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Legolas glowed, adding, "And you too, Ada!"

"Oh? And what about me?"

"You beat the bad guys! 'Red told me the bad guys are Darkness and are really hard to fight, but you did it! And you found me, and saved the kingdom, and got all better!" The elfling poked Thranduil's left cheek, adding, "And your scars make you even more mighty! Right, Cel?"

"Of course! And Ada finally won one round of 'Mirkwood versus orcs'!" Celeberyn grinned

"Yeah!" Legolas giggled. "That too! That's very important!"

Thranduil laughed. "Alright. We can celebrate me too, if that's not too selfish."

"Nope! Not at all!"

* * *

_And so that night the great halls of the Elvenking Thranduil held a beautiful feast unmatchable in all of Middle Earth. There was singing, dancing, laughter, jokes, and loads and loads of food. Legolas was delighted. But more then that, it was a celebration of hope. _

_Of peace. _

_Of life. _

_A celebration that the Woodland realm had been faced with one of the greatest dangers, but overcame it - overcame the darkness. A celebration that their beloved king, though scarred horribly on the outside, his spirit was still bright as the stars inside. A celebration that Mirkwood's princes were alive and well, and more mischievous then ever. _

_The twin sons of Elrond were also present at the feast, and rumor said that they taught little Legolas many pranks, and that's why there were so many strange things occurring that night._

_No one would ever forget that dark, fateful day, that day that nearly brought Mirkwood to her knees. However, they would not only look back on it in horror, but in admiration. In hope. For not even something as powerful as dragonfire can defeat the Woodland realm. And they liked to think that they owed it to their king Thranduil and his unwavering spirit. Oh, and perhaps that little elfling too. _

_He's the green leaf in the heart of winter. _

_Without him, the king would have fallen….followed by his kingdom. _

_So perhaps Mirkwood owes her survival to one little prince, running around at the feast laughing, causing crumbs to fly all over the place as he played games with his father. _

_Unexpected?_

_Well, hope often comes in unexpected forms._

* * *

**So what do you guys think? An ending worthy of my ridiculous story? ^_^ **

***laughs* I'm pretty glad it's ending...I have huge armies of plot bunnies that are threatening me right now and it's worrying. **

**I hope I can get the last chapter up soon, so you all can look forward to that...it will be the scene between Thorin and Thranduil in DOS, if you're wondering... ^_^**

**Again, HUGE thanks to all of you! **

**thank you so much for taking the time to read, since I know it takes time and we never have enough of it... **

**Have an awesome day, everyone!**

**#durinsday**


	13. Epilogue

**Okkayy guys! This is officially the last chapter ever of "Do not speak to me of Dragonfire" **

**If you are reading this, thank you SO MUCH! Thank you for your support and your kind words! You have no idea how much it means to me ^_^ **

**Peredhel: awwww I'm so glad you liked the ending! I was actually kind of worried about it ^_^ hannon le!**

**Me: THANK you so much! So glad you liked this! It's so sweet of you to say I'm a good author ^O^, I'm glad you liked this one! I have a lot of future stories planned...too much to keep track of *laughs* I hope you'll like them too ^^**

**kei: thank you! So glad you liked it! And I'm happy you like Celeberyn too ^^ (he sends his thanks) I'm actually quite surprised at how accepted he is. it makes me happy though ^O^**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything... T^T **

**Note: This epilogue happens many many years after the last chapter, so Legolas is a grown warrior. And if you find anything strange in here...*koff**koff* like the fate of Cel, for example...it's because my plot bunnies have gone crazy and there are stories that happened inbetween chapter 12 of Dragonfire and this epilogue here...(am I confusing you? Sorry!)**

**IMPORTANT: Okay, so this is the scene between Thorin and Thranduil in DOS, with Legolas too, of course. Most of their dialogue is strictly movie-verse. But I would like to say, that I am not HATING on Thorin! In fact, I think people hate on Thranduil way more. I am just trying to emphasize the pain our Elvenking has gone through, and how most people don't know about it...I have mixed components of movie-Thranduil and book-Thranduil (though I personally like book-Thranduil more ^^) If you feel like you don't like reading things that talk about how elves hate dwarves and all that, you might not want to read this epilogue. But I promise this is all necessary. **

**Still here? **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Thranduil was confused. The Elvenking sat back in his throne, watching as a group of armed warriors approached him towing a small crowd of itty-bitty strangers. There were never many travelers in Mirkwood, and definitely not….dwarves. He leaned forward a little, interested to know what they were doing in his land.

As the king watched, a warrior broke away from the group and bounced lightly up to him, grinning that elfling smile that always brightened Thranduil's day. The warrior was tall, dressed in green and brown with golden hair cascading over armored shoulders and a strong bow that when wielded, could destroy anything in its path. But what the king loved the most were his eyes. Beautiful, clear blue eyes that always showed a flash of mischief and were full of joy.

The warrior grinned and kissed Thranduil on the cheek. "Ada, I'm back, and no injuries, see? I promise I'm not hiding anything."

Thranduil looked his son over and nodded with satisfaction. "Good. You're getting better, Legolas. This is the fifth patrol in a row that you haven't come back to me half dead!"

Legolas crouched down next to his father, eyes wide. "I'm sorry Ada! I don't plan on getting hurt, I swear! It's just that…"

"That you are too selfless and stubborn."

The prince offered his father a crooked grin. "Well….I believe I have you to blame for my stubbornness…"

Thranduil sighed. "Legolas, you will be the death of me someday. Ever since you were an elfling…"

"No Ada, please don't say that…..especially not after….." The prince shook his head, unable to continue.

Thranduil smiled weakly, redirecting his attention to the strangers approaching. "So, who has been wandering around in our forest?"

Legolas looked towards the dwarves with a slight frown. "It's Thorin Oakenshield and his company consisting of thirteen dwarves."

_Thorin Oakenshield? _Thranduil raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What business do they have?"

"We don't know. But they hold swords forged by the high elves."

"Oh? Interesting…."

The king and prince of Mirkwood watched as the patrol shoved the dwarves forward, bowing to Thranduil and glaring at the short creatures. The dwarves looked up and scowled with dark glares that could have melted any other king. Thranduil stared back coolly with a whirlwind of emotions stirring in his mind. What were they doing? How long had they been here? _They better not be causing trouble in the villages…_

Among the dwarves was one that seemed more powerful then the rest, with dark hair and an intense look in his eyes. "Thorin Oakenshield. What business do you and your company have in my lands?" Thranduil asked calmly.

The dwarf king merely scowled at him and said nothing.

_Well, they have been trespassing in our forest, and the penalty for that is…_ Thranduil waved his hand at the patrol, gesturing for them to take the company away. "To the dungeon. Make sure they have food and water. As for Thorin, I will speak to him separately."

Thranduil was already being extremely kind to the dwarves, and he wasn't to blame for his distrustful behavior. After an incident many years ago, Mirkwood had grown distrustful of strangers and even more protective of their king.

The dwarves weren't very happy about getting separated - kicking and cursing in Khuzdul as the patrol dragged them away. Thorin stood alone in front of Thranduil, silent and steaming with rage.

"If you do anything to them, I will – "

Thranduil waved his hand dismissively. "I won't. they'll be well treated. Or, as well as you might expect from a dungeon." The king stood and descended the steps of his throne, feeling that maybe if he stood eye level, the dwarf would be more inclined to talk. Legolas settled himself on the side of his father's throne, eyeing Thorin warily and hoping that everything would go smoothly.

"So," Thranduil started. "What business do you have in my lands?"

A glare. That was at least a response.

"Well, I know why you have come." This was partly true. The Elvenking had a good guess as to what they were doing. "Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand. A quest to claim a homeland….and slay a dragon." _Dragon. _The word rang painfully in Thranduil's mind, threatening to break him down. But the king just held a slight smile on his face as he continued.

"I myself suspect a more prosaic motive. Attempted burglary. Or something of that ilk." The king stared at Thorin's stone cold eyes. "You have found a way in. You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule. The King's Jewel. The Arkenstone." Thranduil had heard a great deal about that stone, and he knew how important it was to the dwarf king.

"It is precious to you beyond measure." _Like mithril is to me._ "I understand that. There are gems in the mountain that I too desire. White gems, of pure starlight." The ones that his wife used to love. She claimed they were almost beautiful as the stars themselves, and Thranduil made it his mission to get her some. Now that she was gone, there was nothing more the king wanted then mithril, to remind him of her unmatchable beauty.

"I offer you my help." The king never really loved dwarves, but he also knew what it was like to face a dragon, and how it felt to be opposed by everyone. The dwarf standing in front of him was a king, and Thranduil knew what it was like to be driven from your own kingdom. He really did want to help.

Thorin smirked slightly, looking up at the Elvenking with a cool stare. "I am listening."

"I will let you go, if you but return what is mine." Thranduil replied. He desperately wished he could get the gems for his wife, even if she were no longer here with him. _But I know she will love them. _

Thorin fixed Thranduil with a glare as he slowly turned around, taking slow paces away from the throne. "A favor for a favor."

"You have my word." _Promise._ "One king to another."

The dwarf king froze in his tracks with his back to Thranduil. When his voice rose, it was cold as the Misty Mountains themselves. "I would not trust Thranduil the great king to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!"

The Elvenking froze in horror and rage as the dwarf's words grated over him harshly. _Does he not understand how important keeping my word is to me?_

_He is still angry that I didn't help him….._Thranduil felt a cold frost spreading over his body. People could laugh at him, they could mock him. But they couldn't doubt his dedication to his people. No. There was nothing the king cared more then his family and his kingdom.

The day that Erebor fell, Thranduil could have helped the dwarves. But he had remembered all the elven families in his kingdom that had lost warriors to battle. How broken and hopeless they were. And he didn't want that to happen. So that day, he turned his elk around. To save his people.

But the Elvenking knew no one would understand…

Thorin whipped around, pointing an accusing finger at Thranduil. "You, who lack all honor! I have seen how you treat your friends! We came to you once. Starving, homeless, seeking your help. But you turned your back! You turned away from the suffering of my people, and the inferno that destroyed us! Imrid amrad ursu!"

Those words.

Thranduil's mind went blank with rage. Black filled the vision of his right eye. _You who lack all honor…..turned your back….the inferno….imrid amrad ursu….._No. The dwarf king knew nothing. Nothing!

The king was immediately sucked back to that awful day when Mirkwood nearly fell to those cursed serpents. He remembered the fire consuming him. Remembered sending Legolas away. Remembered Argeleb reporting the elfling dead. Remembered his entire world collapsing, the great pain in his heart. He remembered the pure darkness that was his future.

_You cannot say this. No. you have no right. _Imrid amrad ursu…Thranduil knew some dwarvish, enough to understand those words. No.

_I have already died once. What else do you want from me?! _Intense pain suddenly seized Thranduil's heart and squeezed as if trying to kill him.

When Legolas heard the dwarf king's words, he leapt up from where he was, glaring at Thorin with his mouth wide open in horror.

"You….!" The prince's words died in his throat. He couldn't express his swirling emotions in any way. Or rather, no words could do him justice. Legolas only knew that no one had the right to speak to his father in such a way. He too immediately remembered that day…and how he thought Thranduil was dead, lying on the bed with bandages criss crossing the entire left side of his body and his right eye closed.

The prince remembered how long it took his father to get accustomed to having a blind left eye, and how long it took for his brain to fully heal. He remembered how long it was before Thranduil stopped having horrible flashbacks. Remembered how he always held his father in his arms to assure him his little green leaf was still alive. He remembered the tears, the pain, the horror that shone so evidently in Thranduil's clear blue eye. And those horrible scars that still lingered.

_Imrid amrad ursu. _Legolas also knew what those three words meant, and his vision went dark with rage. _No. how could you?! How could you say that to Ada? Not after all that he's gone through. Not after…_

Rage blinded Thranduil, and he felt the magic covering his scars slowly start to weaken. The magic did that sometimes, when the king's emotions swirled out of control. If he was thinking clearly, he would have forced himself to calm down. But Thranduil wasn't thinking clearly, and before he knew what was happening, he was staring deep into Thorin Oakenshield's dark eyes. "Do not talk to me of dragonfire!" He hissed. "I know its wrath and ruin! I have faced the great serpents of the North!"

The king realized his mistake. He felt his magic receding from his skin like melting frost, pulling back to reveal the scars on his face and his blind left eye.

Legolas was still paralyzed in horror, and after seeing his father's scars surface, he hurried down the steps of the throne and towards Thranduil, trying not to explode in fury at Thorin Oakenshield.

When the king sensed his son's presence, his mind managed to calm down, and he pulled back to his throne as the magic reapplied itself perfectly to cover the left side of his face. Thranduil turned to Thorin, struggling to stay in control as he said, "I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon. But he would not listen. You are just like him." The Elvenking slowly treaded back up the steps of his throne and waved his hand. Instantly two warriors grabbed the dwarf king and started dragging him away from their king, furious that such words had come from the creature's mouth.

"Stay here if you will." Thranduil continued. "And rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I'm patient. I can wait."

* * *

Aredhel sure felt good when he shoved Thorin Oakenshield into the dungeon. He had been standing in the throne room as a guard, and when the dwarf king said those things to Thranduil…..well, let's just say that Thorin was lucky to have been sent to the dungeons.

However, the Elvenking still insisted the dwarf be given food and water, and made safe, which honestly made Aredhel furious. The warrior thought his king was just too merciful. _If it were me, I wouldn't just throw him in the dungeon! I'd…._

Aredhel pushed Thorin hard into the small-ish space, and slammed the door shut with a bang, locking it snuggly. _No one speaks to king Thranduil like that. No one._

The warrior would never forget that day the dragons came…..in fact, the entire kingdom of Mirkwood would never forget it. But Aredhel especially. After the royal family had healed completely, the warrior continued to protect Legolas, quickly forming a tight friendship with him and strong bonds with the royal family. His own father having died in battle, Aredhel looked towards Thranduil as his king and father figure.

The warrior shot a dark glare at Thorin, silently letting him know how angry he was and how grateful the dwarf should be. _Food and water! Valar, King Thranduil's kindness will be the death of him someday!_

* * *

"Ada!" As soon as Thorin was dragged away and Thranduil sunk back into his throne, Legolas crouched down by his father, looking up at him with pained eyes. "Ada….don't listen to the dwarf king."

Thranduil smiled weakly and brushed the prince's cheek. "Hannon le…..I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"But I _am _worried. Ada, you haven't had a flashback since…." Legolas shook his head angrily. "Thorin Oakenshield," he muttered. "If you weren't a king, I would….Ada, you have too much mercy."

"Life is precious, green leaf. And the dwarves are all living creatures, are they not?"

"They are, but I really think you should throw them out. Or at least don't give them so much food…."

Thranduil smiled and kissed his son on the cheek. "Someday you will understand, ion nin. When you become king."

"Nuh-uh. _You_ will only ever be the king of Mirkwood, Ada. And you're not going anywhere." Legolas cocked his head as he added, "The mithril. Is that because of nana?" The queen of the woodland realm had passed a short while after the little prince was born, so Legolas had no memory of her. He only knew that his father loved her deeply and wished nothing more then to bring her back.

"Yes." Thranduil replied quietly. "She loved them, claimed that they were like holding stars in your hand."

"Humph. Those greedy dwarves. Can't spare a few gems in their mountains of gold? Don't worry, Ada. I promise I'll get some mithril for you somehow." Legolas' heart was instantly filled with hate for dwarves. A deep, intense hate. _Thorin Oakenshield. I despise you, your kin, your Company, the kin of your Company…..I swear if we ever cross paths again, you will regret your words today. I will never forgive you, not for all of eternity. You want to speak of dragons? You want to claim that you have suffered from dragonfire? _

_Let me tell you, Thorin Oakenshield, _Legolas thought, steaming with rage. _You will never know the extent of dragonfire. You have never experienced true pain, not the way my father has. You have not been scarred beyond repair, not as deep as my father. You will never speak such words to him again. How dare you say he lack honor! How dare you say Ada is a cold, unfeeling king? _

There were many things Legolas could endure, but listening to people insult his father was not one of them. Thranduil had been misunderstood too much in his life.

The prince grinned at the king and sat next to him on the throne. "So, Ada. Aredhel's talking about how we need to tighten our patrols around the southern borders. There has been too much suspicious activity."

"If you are asking permission to go on more patrols, then the answer is no." Thranduil replied, fixing his son with a glare.

"But we need to protect the people….don't worry, I have Thalion and Aredhel. They wouldn't let anything happen to me for fear of feeling your wrath, even though I know you wouldn't do anything to them."

"Hm." The king snorted. "If they brought you back dead, I may not be responsible for my actions."

Legolas could sense the sheer pain underneath his father's words, and his heart shattered. "I'm sorry, Ada…I know what will cheer you up! How about a round of 'Mirkwood versus orcs'?"

Thranduil shook his head, smiling. "Green leaf, we haven't played that in centuries! And it won't be the same without…." The king's voice faded and his right eye suddenly flashed with unimaginable grief.

Legolas' heart constricted in agony when he thought of his older brother who had passed onto the Halls of Mandos not too long ago. Nothing was ever the same. In fact, the young prince had only just recovered from the sheer grief and brokenness that resulted. "That's why we have to play it." The prince whispered. "It'll just be like old times again, before that day the dragons came…." _and our lives were changed forever._

"Alright." Thranduil smiled weakly. "My skills have probably been dulled even more, but I'll try my best."

Legolas grinned. "I bet you still can't beat me!"

"Oh we'll see about that."

The prince laughed and bounced down the steps of the throne with Thranduil following behind. _Don't worry, Ada. Don't take Thorin's words to heart. And even if all of Arda stands against you, despises you, I will stand beside you. _

_For I have also felt the ruin of dragonfire, and no one has the right to speak to you of it. No one._

**END**

* * *

***phew* It's finally over guys! Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this story! I'm so happy that so many of you have liked it! ^_^ *group hug with Thranduil, Legolas, and Cel*(they all send their many thanks) **

**As for my next stories...so I have entire armies of plot bunnies that are threatening me, but I'd like to know what kind of stories you guys would like to see... **

**Now that you've read the epilogue, you've come accross the part where I mention Cel's death. Yeah, that plot bunny is part of an army that's been attacking me for...months, actually (yeah, a LONG time!) It's actually kind of complicated, about traitors in Mirkwood and whatnot...however, it's really angsty and tragic...and I don't know if you guys like those stories - what do you think? (but I promise my stories always have happy endings! ^^)**

**I also have another huge plot bunny army that centers around Thranduil ascending the throne (it's really complicated) that I most likely will write very soon...**

**I can maybe possibly handle three stories at once, so what do you guys like? Legolas? Thranduil? Aragorn? Elladan? Elrohir? (I'm just in love with these guys, so... ^^) Friendship? Angst? Fluff? Adventure? **

**Anyway, so what's your opinion? Personally I have so many plot bunnies that I dont' know what to do...*laughs* **

**Note: I have GINORMOUS exams coming up mid-may, so there will probably be not much activity from me through the end of April and until the fifteenth of May. ^_^ **

**Thank you so much for reading (especially if you're reading all this rambling! Sorry) ^^ **

**Have an awesome day!**

**#durinsday**


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